Rogue
by Gorpelz
Summary: Kuroi is desperate to save her otouto. She will take any chance to see him, even if it means betraying the village. She then receives an invitation from Deidara to join Akatsuki. He tempts her with chances to see Sasuke. Will she accept? DeidaraXOC
1. Betrayal

**I know you're all gonna hate me for this... Heck, I hate me for this! But yes, I HAVE started a new story, but I WILL keep updating the other ones. Though, you'll be happy to hear that I will always prioritize HSWMD as my top fic. It's my most reviewed. Oh, and it has an update coming up! :D **

**This story will introduce my first OC ever created.**

**Just a heads up on Kuroi: She's Sasuke's twin, and she's older than him by 4.5 minutes. :D The three Uchiha siblings used to get along until Itachi wiped out the clan.**

**Warning: Hints of yummy yaoi goodness! :D And blood.**

**Disclaimer: I only own the fic and my OC.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Rogue: Betrayal

"Tsunade-shishou?" A girl with pink hair and shining emerald eyes bowed at the blond.

The gesture was returned by an almost incomprehensible "Hai?" Her words muffled by her hand. Apparently trying to keep her hangover from getting worse.

"A-ano... Sh-she's escaped, a_gain._"Sakura fidgeted nervously, playing with the hem of her pink medic skirt.

"Nani?" Her liquor-induced headache was forgotten as she sent the medic to gather a team of shinobi and run after said girl.

* * *

"Ano... Deidara-senpai, is that really her?" A masked figure pointed to a girl with black hair and onyx eyes.

"No doubt about it. That's Uchiha's sister, un." Deidara nodded in agreement.

"Sugoi! She's so pretty!" Tobi stood up flailed his arms up and down, imitating a distempered(1) chicken.

"Kuso! Keep it down, baka!" The blond quickly clapped his hand onto Tobi's mouth, or at least where it should be...

"Mmmmi... Innangoooi..." The dense boy's words muffled by the pressure of Deidara's hand.

"Damaru, Tobi!" He grabbed his loud partner into the bushes as a kunai flew towards them.

"What is your purpose?" The girl demanded as she held her katana to the blond's neck.

"Tobi is a good boy!" The masked boy jumped out from the bushes and beamed at the girl.

The gesture went unnoticed as the staring contest between the two shinobi continued.

Deidara donned a defeated look but was immediately replaced by a smirk, "Maa maa, Kuroi. Are you really going to pass up the chance to see your brother again?"

"I don't have any interest in seeing that traitor again." She applied pressure to the katana, creating a deep bloody gash on the clay-user's neck.

"Itai... I wasn't talking about Itachi." His smirk grew as he pushed the katana away with a single finger.

Her onyx eyes widened but she quickly hid her surprised expression as not to show any signs of submission, "I'm listening."

"Before I tell you, put your weapon down." He looked at her with playful eyes, his expression daring her to oppose.

She glared at him, searching his eyes for any hints of knavery. She sighed in defeat and threw her katana, the weapon piercing the tree beside Tobi's head. The unfortunate boy doubled over, falling into a state of shock. Deidara took the opportunity to give Kuroi a quick once-over, baffled by her unique beauty. She had black hair with a blue tint, pale skin and surprisingly soft onyx eyes. Although he hated Uchihas and their famous kekkei genkai, the Sharingan, he couldn't help but find the young ANBU captain attractive.

"There, I'm unarmed. Now tell me." She demanded.

* * *

Naruto, Sakura and Sai leaped from tree to tree, pursuing the troublesome raven.

"Dammit Kuroi! We already lost Sasuke now you're running away too?" The blond fumed as he transcended his two companions.

"Naruto..." Sakura started, but was cut off when Sai placed his hand on the worried girl's shoulder.

"Don't even try. He's unreachable now."

"I know. I just don't want him to get hurt again."

* * *

"We're short on members. We've been watching you for a while before Leader-sama asked us to recruit you. We have what you need, you have what we need. Leader-sama thought that maybe we could help each other out, un." Deidara explained, nursing his aching neck.

Kuroi saw that he was in pain and instantly felt a pang of guilt rush through her. "You should cover that up, it could get infected." She tore a piece of her ANBU shirt, wrapping it around the blonde's neck. "If I do come with you guys... I'll be no better than aniki. But if I do, I'll have a chance to see Sasuke... Tough choice." She said whilst tying the knot.

"Itai!" His hand instantly drifted to his neck, causing him touch the girl's hand accidentally.

They both tensed up at this, their faces painted with a pink tint.

Deidara averted his eyes. "You should go. They're probably looking for you. Meet us here tonight if you decide to come with us, un."

"Hai. If I don't show up, no one is to know about this little rendezvous. Do I make myself clear? Don't worry, I won't turn you in." She plucked her katana from the tree and ran off.

Tobi awoke to the sound of Kuroi's footsteps, still shaken. "Ano sa, senpai. Tobi thinks Kuroi is nice. Tobi likes her." He declared in an almost swooning tone.

"Senpai? You're blushing! Does this mean you like her too?" Tobi said mischievously.

"Shut up!"

"Gah! Ochitsuite!" Tobi once again flailed his arms in the air. He kinda made that chicken look silly. Poor chicken. "Well anyway... You think she'll come?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure she will, un. Ikimashou, Tobi."

* * *

"Kuroi!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs. He was about to repeat when...

"I'm right here Naruto. You don't need to yell." Kuroi jumped out of the bushes, wearing a flustered look.

She stood next to Naruto who in turn, eyed her profusely.

"What?" The raven retorted.

"Your all red. Did you catch a cold or something?"

"Ah... No. It must be the heat."

"Well what the hell were you thinking, baka! Running of like that and not leaving a note or anything!" He shook her by the shoulders.

"Gomenasai." Kuroi let her bangs fall to her face, the shadows dancing on her pale skin.

Naruto pulled her into a hug, her eyes widening. "I'm just glad you didn't run off like Sasuke. Don't ever scare us like that again, ne?"

She nodded and smiled at her blond friend.

"Kuroi! Did you get injured? I'll heal you." Sakura said as she noticed the tear in her shirt.

"Don't worry, it probably got caught in some tree or something. I'm not bleeding, see?" She poked the spot where her shirt was torn.

"Let's go back home then." Sai smiled.

* * *

"Uchiha Kuroi! I am disappointed in you! How can you be an ANBU captain if you don't even show your comrades a good example? You deliberately ran away on a whim if I'm not mistaken, to seek out your brother. Correct?" Any signs of a hangover were instantly washed away when Tsunade reprimanded the young Uchiha.

Kuroi nodded slowly and bowed a low as she could. "Gomenasai. I promise you it won't happen again."

"Well that's not the first time I've heard that. Just be sure you keep your promises, Uchiha. Mattaku. You just made my headache worse. Dismissed." Tsunade waved them away, rubbing her temples.

* * *

Kuroi, Naruto, Sai and Sakura walked out of the building, heading to their favorite ramen stand. The sky was blue with an orange tinge to it. Night was falling. Kuroi lead a caring, guiding eye to stare at her friends. They were all she had since Sasuke left and Itachi... No. Since that traitor wiped out the the whole clan. Her family. He was the reason for Sasuke's absence. The reason for his great hate. That asshole's stupidity and selfishness is what made her otouto crack. They're what made him want more power. She knew that joining Akatsuki meant having to see Itachi often. But it was the only way to save Sasuke. If not, the last chance to see him.

"Ne, Kuroi. Treat us to some ramen! It's the least you can do since you made us worry so much!"

Said girl chuckled at this, patting his blond friend on the head. "Hn."

Naruto puffed his cheeks out at this. "You act just like Sasuke-teme."

"You miss him, don't you Naruto?" Sai suddenly asked with an almost real smile. "I have only met Sasuke-kun once... He was... Etto... Rude. But from what I hear, he must be a pretty great guy if you miss him _that_ much."

"N-no I don't! But I bet Sakura-chan does." He waggled his eyebrows at the girl who in turn, punched the poor boy in the face.

"Don't worry, Naruto. I'll save my idiot brother for you and Sakura." Her eyes curved into half circles at their antics.

"Hah! Honto ni? You will?" Sparkling azure orbs stared into piercing black pools as he clasped his hands together. The Uchiha couldn't help but smile at Naruto's hopeful demeanor.

"Of course I will! I'm your fan club!" She squeezed the blonde's cheeks, grinning rather uncharacteristically.

Sakura tried to stifle a laugh at this. "Count me in, Kuroi!"

"Then it's official! Sakura is now a member of The SasuNaru Fan Club!" She may be an Uchiha, but that wasn't gonna stop her from teasing her easily-swayed friend. She felt comfortable around them. They were her only family. She was usually stoic. But this was her last 2 hours with them. She had to get ready soon. She had to go all out for her friends. _"This is for them."_ Was the mantra that played in her head. She had to abide by that. She needed to do it. For her otouto, for her freinds, for Naruto. Especially for Naruto. He was lost without Sasuke. She could see that from a mile away.

"Hey! Don't I get a say in this?" Naruto puffed his cheeks out. Sure he loved Sasuke, but it felt kinda weird to get teased by said Uchiha's twin sister about their supposed relationship.

Sakura and Kuroi laughed at the blonde's pink tinted cheeks the proceeded to drag him off to Ichiraku.

"Yaoi?" Sai stood in bewilderment at the concluded discussion. Shrugging, he followed the trio.

* * *

"Shizune." Tsunade called her attendant in a serious tone.

"Hai?"

"Tell Kakashi to keep a close eye on Kuroi." Tsunade's calm exterior never wavered as Shizune's eyes widened at the command.

"But!"

"No excuses. Go. Now!" She almost screamed out. It frightened Shizune. Her master was never like this. She only acted up when... No! She wouldn't! The brunette took to the stairs and ran to look for said Jounin. _"What have you gotten yourself into this time, Kuroi?"_

* * *

"E-etto... Naruto... I really have to go now..." The young Uchiha sweatdropped at the large (growing) pile of ramen bowls that Naruto was stacking on the counter. Ayame frantically tried to balance the bowls that Naruto had ordered. Sakura and Sai groaned in boredom, resting their heads on their palms. Oddly enough, the pale boy groaned through his grinning teeth, refusing to portray any emotion other than "happiness." And Teuchi egged on the young Jinchuuriki, whom buried his face into the toxic delicacy.

"But Kuroi!"

"No buts. Don't worry, I'll leave enough money to pay for it." She ruffled his blond locks, said goodbye to Sai and Sakura, and took off. "I wonder what time it is... It's gotten pretty dark."

"Around seven." A voice said. It startled Kuroi, she never even felt the man's presence. It had to be none other than...

"Konbanwa, Kakashi-senpai." She turned to him and smiled.

"Very perceptive as usual." He grinned through his mask. _"She's hiding something. Tsunade was right."_

"Arigatou. Did you need something?" She felt the urge to run away but she quickly swallowed it down and beckoned her senpai to walk with her.

Kakashi went to her side and they walked in silence. He waited for a while before addressing the young ANBU captain. "Don't do this, Kuroi."

Onyx eyes widened at this. _"How did he know?" _She quickly retorted before he could get any more suspicious. "Do what?" She kept a straight face to hopefully, lessen the tension and suspicion mixing with the cold evening air. Her clueless act failed as the Jounin shook his head.

"Don't lie." He held her at arms length,staring into her eyes, hoping to find any common sense in them. "I already lost one student. Now I have to lose another?"

Black locks fell into her face, hiding her hurt eyes from Kakashi. "Please don't stop me, senpai. I know what I'm doing."

"I'm not asking you to stop for me. I'm asking for your friends. For _Naruto. _He was already so depressed when Sasu-"

"This _is _for Naruto!" She quickly pulled away, shocking the man before him.

_"She's crying." _He leaned over to comfort her, regretful of his words. Kakashi, not very experienced with comforting people, wasn't sure what to do. So he just sat there and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Gomenasai, senpai." She whispered.

Kakashi stared at her, confused. But instantly felt his eyes getting heavy. _"She hit my pressure point. Very proficient, Kuroi. Serves me right for letting my guard down. Oh well, let Tsunade scold me in the morning if she must."_ Not long after, he fell unconscious.

She wiped the tears that dampened her face and ran to her home to gather her things. When she first entered the world of shinobi, running away was the last thing on her mind. Now she was doing it without much of a care about the consequences. "Do it for them, Kuroi."

She placed her ANBU mask on her bed, leaving a note under it. Heading out the door, tears were shed before an ominous click resonated throughout the room. "Sayonnara, Konohagakure."

* * *

"You're late, un." Deidara stated as he chewed some clay with the mouths in the palms of his hands. Performing some hand-seals, he threw the bird-shaped clay sculpture onto the forest floor. He motioned fer her to get on, holding out his hand.

"Gomenasai. I ran into one of my comrades." She took the hand offered to her and got on the clay bird. "Where's Tobi? Aren't you cautious that I might've betrayed you?"

"With the expression you had when you left, I was pretty sure you'd come. Besides, this concerns your dear little otouto, doesn't it?" With that, he took to the skies with amazing speed.

"Isn't it a little careless to travel by air? Konoha has watchtowers that can see really far."

"It's faster this way. And were not even high enough to be seen, so just relax and enjoy the ride, un. Leader-sama is anxious to meet you." He increased his speed a bit, rustling the treetops below.

"But, wasn't he the one who asked me to join you? Surely he's seen me before."

Her question was left unanswered, baffling her a bit. "Hang on tight. There's some turbulence ahead."

* * *

"Kuroi! Ne, Kuroi!" The blue-eyed kitsune knocked on said girl's door, two other teens following behind. "Hello? Anyone home? It's just that you left in such a rush that we never managed to ask you if you were OK..."

He waited for a moment before blurting out, "I'm coming in!"

"Naruto!" Sakura tried to stop her blond friend but failed as he entered anyway.

Sai just shrugged and followed Naruto inside.

"Mou, Sai! Mattaku... Am I the only one sane in this team?" She sweat dropped and followed the two boys. When she entered, she found Naruto in tears on the floor, clutching a piece of paper in his hands.

Sai's eyes widened as he saw the ANBU mask on the bed. "This is Kuroi's. The design can confirm that." He picked it up and examined the swirls of paint on the porcelain mask.

Sakura ran over to Naruto and comforted him, rubbing his back and saying soothing words to him. Said boy pulled away and thrust the note into the medic-nin's hands. "Read it. Just read it." His voice broke as more tears rolled down his cheeks. "Read it, Sakura!" He almost screamed.

She cringed at Naruto's voice, tears falling from her eyes. She read the note slowly, her hands trembling from anxiousness.

_Everyone,_

_ I'm sorry. I let my emotions take over. I've caused you all  
__enough pain already, I let you fight my battles for me, I dragged  
you into my sorrow. I don't know how I can make up for that so,  
I guess this is goodbye. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to control  
myself and forget about my brother. I guess the villagers were right.  
Maybe I am just a useless waste of space. They were even right  
about me betraying the village. _

___ Kakashi-senpai, I'm sorry I couldn't be the ideal student.  
Yamato-taicho, please replace me as soon as possible. Sai, I'm sure  
you've got a real smile in there somewhere. Do your best to find it.  
Sakura, please take my ANBU mask to Tsunade-sama and tell her  
I've resigned. And Naruto, I told you I'd save Sasuke. Just hang in  
there and wait for us to come home, ne?_

___ -Uchiha Kuroi_

___P.S. Please don't go after me. _

* * *

**1. Nope, not the disease, if that's what you were thinking. Distempered can also mean disturbed. ^_^**


	2. Pursuit

**Hello... :D Second chapter! Just put some lyrics in. They kinda interpret Kuroi's goal, so I thought they were fitting for this chapter. How cheesy am I? :D**

**NOTE: I forgot to add that Kuroi was sent away to train atop a mountain with an old friend of Fugaku's after she graduated. She was very young back then, but she knew how to take care of herself. She took her Chunnin and Jounin exams in a nearby hidden village, receiving permission from Yoru-shishou. Some time around when she was Jounin, her shishou fell ill. She desperately tried to nurse him back to health, but in the end, failed. She gave him a proper burial under the sakura tree they always had lunch underneath. She then left the mountain and hitchhiked her way back to Konoha, where she learned that the clan was gone and Sasuke had ran away to seek power from Orochimaru. Naruto and Sakura instantly befriended her, and they became as close as siblings. Shortly after, Naruto left to train with Jiraiya and Kuroi was promoted to ANBU Captain.**

**Kuroi is 18, along with Naruto, Sasuke, etc. Deidara is 19, and Itachi is 23. Had to change their ages for Deidara and Kuroi. :D**

**Oh, and no one is dead yet. All the Akatsuki members are alive and well. Including ex-member, Oro-chan! XD**

**AND... I know this is in Romance/Humor and there's a lot of drama where it shouldn't be... But not to worry! Yummy fluffy scenes will come! Patience, Young Grasshopper. XD**

**SIDE NOTE: Sasuke and Kuroi shared a room when they were young, until Kuroi left.**

**Enjoy! :D**

**

* * *

**

_"I wanna run away  
__Never say goodbye  
__I wanna know the truth  
__Instead of wondering why  
__I wanna know the answers  
__No more lies  
__I wanna shut the door  
__And open up my mind"_

-Linkin Park (Runaway)

Rogue: Pursuit

"H-how could she do this?" Naruto's hands covered his damp face, his words muffled and barely audible. His voice came out as a croaky stutter, more tears falling from his face.

Sakura reached out to pull him into a hug, but was stopped when the blond glared at her with red eyes.

"We have to find her! What if she ends up like Sasuke? I won't let that happen!"

"Naruto! Please, just let us talk to Tsunade-shishou first..." She tried to calm him down, looking at him with pleading eyes.

"Please calm down. We'll find her, don't worry. Kuroi is smart and strong, she can fend for herself." Sai put down the mask and slowly approached Naruto.

"But what if she can't? Sure, she surpassed Itachi, but there are stronger shinobi than him!" He retorted.

"And you think the three of us can beat them alone? Let's face it Naruto, we won't be of any help if we don't ask for it. Let's talk to Tsunade-shishou first okay?" Sakura offered him her hand, which he took hesitantly.

"Fine. Let's go." His eyes' crimson color slowly faded as they left Kuroi's house.

* * *

"Ne, Kuroi." Deidara glanced at said girl, hoping to get her attention.

"Hn." She answered tiredly, her head almost touching Deidara's shoulder.

"Why did you agree to join, knowing that your brother would be there, un?"

Her body suddenly woke up, her features molding into a frown. "That's none of you business."

"Come on, I won't tell anybody. I promise."

"I don't care if you tell anyone, I just don't like telling anybody about my personal life." She looked away, suddenly finding the treetops interesting.

"Please?"

"Fine. I wanna know the truth. About my brother and the clan. He wasn't like that! He never was..."

_~Flashback~_

_"You're sending her away?"_

_Six year-old Kuroi stared at the figures behind the shoji doors, the shadows of her brother and father fighting. She closed her eyes and cover her ears as they continued their rather loud conversation._

_"This is for her, Itachi. With me training you and Sasuke, there's no time for me to train her. If I don't send her away, she'll never progress as a kunoichi."_

_Itachi rose up, slamming his hands onto the table. "I don't care! I 'll train her myself if I have to! Please just don't send her away..."_

_Fugaku sighed and brought a hand to massage his aching temples. "I've made up my mind and that's final! Now go to sleep. You'll wake up the whole district with your shouting."_

_Itachi shot one last glare at his father and slammed the door behind him. His eyes widened at the sight before him. His little sister staring up at him with wide, scared eyes, tears staining her cheeks. "Kuroi..."_

_"Nii-chan... Please stop fighting with otou-san just because of me." Her voice broke as she tried desperately to form words._

_Itachi's eyes softened at the sound of her voice, his ears detecting sadness and guilt mixed with it. "We weren't fighting. We just had a little talk. Now, if you don't stop crying you'll ruin that pretty face of yours." He gently dabbed her tears away with his shirt. "Let's go to sleep, ne?" He grabbed her hand and smiled._

_"Ne, nii-chan. Will you sleep with me and Sasuke?" Bright onyx eyes stared up at Itachi, pleading him to say yes._

_Itachi jabbed his fingers into Kuroi's forehead. "Anything for my cute little imouto." He smiled._

_~End Flashback~_

"So that's what happened huh?" He paused for a moment, waiting for an answer. "Ne, Kuroi. You awake?" He shot a glance at the girl behind him, a curious look on his face. Kuroi was leaning on his shoulder, fast asleep. He sweat dropped at this and returned his attention to steering. "You're _that_ tired huh? Must've been pretty tough, suddenly abandoning your village like that, un."

"Nii-chan..." Kuroi mumbled, her voice barely audible.

* * *

Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba and Akamaru made their way through the forest in search of the young Uchiha. They slowly made progress as Neji used his Byakugan and Kiba and Akamaru sniffed for Kuroi's scent, desperate to get a lead on her.

"I picked up her scent!" Kiba pointed further into the forest, showing where Kuroi went. "She went this way."

"Yosh! Let's go!" Naruto yelled, running off.

The others followed suit, Kiba taking the lead, transcending Naruto.

"Are you sure she went this way, Kiba?" Shikamaru called out, staring at the Inuzuka in front of him, leading the search team.

"Positive." Kiba replied, a cheerful grin on his face. " At this rate, we'll find her in no time! Ne, Akamaru?"

"Arf!"

_"We're coming for you, Kuroi. Wait for us to come get you, ne?" _Naruto clutched the ANBU mask in his arms, refusing to let go.

_

* * *

_"Kuroi! Wake up, un!" Deidara shook her desperately, increasing his speed.

"Nani?" She finally woke up, rubbing her eyes.

"We've got company, un. Hold on tight!" He went faster, weaving through the trees blocking their way.

"What company?" She clutched his cloak tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"Looks like your friends found out you disappeared, un. What did you do? Write them a note or something?" Deidara shouted, his voice competing with the wind. When he didn't get an answer, he sweat dropped and glanced at Kuroi. "You did, didn't you?"

"W-well, they weren't supposed to find out until tomorrow! I didn't think they'd pay a midnight visit!" Her face grew beet red from embarrassment.

He sighed and lazily urged the bird to go faster, a fatigued look on his face. _"Note to self: avoid future recruit missions."_

* * *

"I can see her now! She's not alone. _They _appear to be traveling by air. And they're gaining speed!" Neji said, activating his Byakugan. "We have to go faster. Won't be long until we catch up to them."

"Alright guys, we can't lose! We have to bring her back. So let's do our best!" Naruto ran faster, glancing back at the group.

They made their way through the forest, gaining on the object of their pursuit. Trees rustled and leaves fell as their well trained bodies passed them. Their auras seeping with determination, faces as serious as serious could be, never wavering in their silent battle cries. They were going to get her back. Or so they thought...

With Neji peering at the world through his Byakugan, he saw a different chakra come in to play. "Someone's coming."

* * *

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?" Kuroi spat out, glaring at the man before him. He had poofed onto the bird in flight, a stoic look on his face.

The man just stared blankly and turned to Deidara. "Go, now. I'll keep them occupied."

The blonde looked hesitant for a moment but in the end, he groaned and mumbled something about 'cocky Uchihas always stealing the spotlight.' The raven nodded and jumped as Deidara urged the bird forward and flew off.

"What the fuck was that about? Couldn't your leader just send someone else?" The young Uchiha wined uncharacteristically, glaring at the man they just left.

Deidara groaned once again, really starting to grow tired of the Uchihas' cocky attitude. "You know technically, he's your leader too. And besides, Itachi was the one who as-"

"Itachi was the one who what?" She demanded.

_"Holy shit, I said too much!" _He mentally covered his mouth while on the outside, he desperately tried to come up with an excuse. "Uh... Itachi's been saving my ass a lot lately, so... Yeah."

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion but averted them to look back at her brother. He was now speaking with her friends. That was when she felt a huge chakra seeping out from Naruto.  
"Oh shit."

"What's wrong?" The blonde stared at her in confusion.

"Naruto's in Kyuubi mode. We have to go back! The idiot might hurt himself!"

"Look, Kuroi. Once you've joined Akatsuki, you have to break all your connections from the village you left. Just like your brother did. You have to forget your friends, forget Naruto. We all went through it."

"But he's one of the reasons I agreed to come with you!" She stared at the battle in tears as Deidara held her back before she could to anything drastic.

"Whatever. Go back if you want." He let go of her arm and returned his attention to steering. "It would've been nice to see your brother again, though."

Her eyes widened. Sitting back down, she mumbled under her breath. "Fine."

* * *

"Get out of the way, Uchiha!" Naruto growled, a massive red chakra streaming from his body.

The man in question just stared blankly at him and said, "I'm sorry. I can't let you go any further." He activated his Mangekyou, trapping Naruto and the others in his jutsu. He watched as they writhed in pain, trying to dispel the jutsu. Even Sakura failed. "I'm sorry to leave you like this, but I can't kill you because she'll never forgive me if I even tried." His voice never wavered as he dispelled the jutsu, bringing the group back to reality. They heaved in large breaths of air, glaring the Uchiha.

"I'll be taking my leave then. Farewell."

"I... Can't... Let you do that." Naruto attempted to stand up, but quickly fell again.

"Goodbye, Uzumaki Naruto. I hope to see you again soon. On different terms perhaps?" With that, he poofed himself away.

* * *

"We're here, un. I can finally take a nap!" He closed his eyes, yawning.

Kuroi looked around. Trees, lots of trees. "Um... Where exactly is _here_?"

Deidara opened his eyes. "Oh, right. Keep watch while I get us in, un." He said, forming a few hand seals. He said some words and then a hatch poofed in front of him. "Alright, lets go inside before it disappears." He opened it and waited for Kuroi to jump inside before jumping in himself.

It was dark. Pitch black, Kuroi had noticed. "What, you guys have night vision or something?"

"We don't have lights in this room so people who magically find their way in can't reach the main hideout easily."

"Well if they were to magically get in somehow, can't they magically find the door?"

"Nope. There are three paths from this room. Only one leads to the main hideout. And before you can reach the door, you have to go through a maze that only members know the way through. Even the other paths have mazes. All lead to dead ends. Even if you get to the door, there's a genjutsu cast on it. So if you don't know how to dispel genjutsu, you can't get in. You could get stuck in here for days, even weeks if you don't know the way, un." He explained, leading her to the right path. "When I was new, I was given directions and told to memorize them. Then I was dropped in here. That was probably the worst day of my life. Partly because I took a wrong turn and I didn't eat lunch yet. I got lost for hours but then I eventually found my way back."

"Wow. So you're really big on the whole secret hideout thing, huh?" She grinned, turning in the direction she thought he would be. Not that he could see her though.

"Hey, Kuroi."

"Yeah?"

"What happened to the attitude, un? Ever since we reached the hideout, you've been grinning like there's no tomorrow." He said, pulling her arm to make her turn a left.

"Why should I tell you?" Her grin suddenly twisted into a frown, glaring at the invisible blonde.

_"Wow. She recovers fast." _He mentally sweat dropped. "I dunno. Just curious."

"I should say the same about you! You've been serious this whole time and-"

"I've been acting serious because I was wondering why you got so loud all of a sudden, un." He cut her off, still guiding her through the maze.

"I-i... Fine I'll tell you." She sighed in defeat. "I can't believe I'm telling you this but, I act happy because even though it hurts like hell, I guess I don't want to be a burden with my gloomy attitude. I mean, you're helping me find Sasuke right? So I thought I should have even a sliver of gratitude."

"What's the other reason?"

"What?" She looked at him in confusion, turning to where the hand that was pulling her coming from.

"I can tell there's another reason. You only started losing the attitude when we reached the hideout. And you knew we were helping you out in the first place. Why start being nice now?"

She once again breathed out a sigh. "You caught that huh? Am I _that_ easy to read? Fine. I don't see any point in telling you this but I guess I should trust you since I'll be living under the same roof as you for Kami knows how long."

"You'll tell me later right? After you meet everyone?" He asked, dispelling the genjutsu he had mentioned earlier. Opening the door, he faced her and gestured her in.

Her eyebrows scrunched up in confusion but instantly turned into a smirk. She passed him and jabbed her fingers into his forehead, just like his brother did. "Limited offer, Dei-chan."

She turned to him and grinned. "Oh, and during my stay here, I'll be known as the loud, good-at-everything, obnoxious girl that always gets on your nerves, ne? Just like Tobi, _un._" She winked.

"But why my nerves, un?" He whined.

"I dunno, guess I just like messing with ya, un."

"Stop doing that, un!" He said following her into the hideout.

"No way, un!" She stuck her tongue out, portraying the girl she had described.

"You two seem to be getting along well, _un_." Itachi appeared in front of them, smirking at Kuroi's manipulative ways.

"Shut up, un!" He shot a glare at Itachi.

* * *

**End! of chapter. :D**

**Finally! Ne, reader-chan. Can you guess who'll be Kuroi's best friend? Hint: he's one of my all time fave characters. :)**

**Review please! Or else, Tobi will cry. :C **


	3. Rookie

**Hullo... Ne, reader-chan. I've realized that updates are coming faster on this story when I should be updating HSWMD... Gomen to the readers of that fic. I promise I'll update!**

**Oh, and I decided to make this somewhat longer than it supposedly needs to be. That might explain the long wait for an update. Why? It's fun writing this story!**

**Okay... What else... Oh, yeah.**

**Enjoy! :D**

**

* * *

**Rogue: Rookie

Kuroi remained silent. Why the hell did his brother have to show up at the worst possible times? When she had to act cheerful and happy... Oh well, like her ignorant aniki had always said, 'Change is impossible.' She didn't need to change herself for the sake of her brother. He was gonna be the only one she didn't go all 'happy-fun-fun mode' around. To prove her mental statement she walked away, telling Deidara to come with her. When they continued inside they were greeted nonchalantly by a kid with red hair who was repairing what looked like a puppet.

"Hey danna, this is Kuroi. She's new."

The redhead looked up from his work and nodded, giving Kuroi a quick once over. "Hajimemashite. Sasori desu."

"Uchiha Kuroi. I look forward to working with you." She replied, a fake smile on her lips.

Deidara sweat dropped. _"Well that was different from the intro _I_ got." _He recalled the incident earlier as he raised his hand to feel the stitches on his neck, seeing a mental image of Kuroi glaring at him with suspicious eyes. He was brought back to reality instantly as Kuroi grabbed his collar and dragged him off, demanding that he introduce her to the others. She wore her most convincing fake grin and approached an almost-blue man.

"Ah, you must be the new kid. Kuroi right?" Almost-blue man smirked. "Welcome to Akatsuki, rookie."

Kuroi stared at the almost-blue man, her eyes demanding his name. When he didn't comply she decided to ask for the man's name. He answered her with a laugh, "Hoshigaki Kisame." She was about to ask how he knew her name when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She felt the urge to grab the arm and twist it till it didn't look like an arm anymore, but swallowed it down. She instead, turned around to see who it was that halted her previous intentions.

The owner of the interrupting limb was a man with numerous facial piercings. He had orange hair which reminded her of her friends that she had left behind, especially Naruto. Now that she thought about it, she saw a bit of resemblance between him and the man, the way his hair was pointed and the bright, blinding color. _"Oh shit."_ She held her neck as she felt bile rise in her throat, catching the cause of her need to vomit off guard. He then realized what was wrong, he pointed to a door a few feet away from them. Deidara got the message and led her to it, opening the door for her. The young Uchiha instantly threw her upper body onto the toilet and relieved herself, Deidara holding her hair and rubbing her back almost hesitantly, fearing that she would get mad if he touched her.

Once she was done, she wiped her mouth with her sleeve. Deidara had a concerned look in his eyes, failing to hide his interest in Kuroi's health. "You ok?" He said, helping her up, once again exchanging unwanted skin contact.

"Aw... He's concerned about me!" She smirked, a smug look on her face.

"Shut up!" Deidara blushed.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She grinned. Turning to the cause of her vomiting, she apologized and asked if she could take a shower before meeting the others. She still didn't know his name so she just called him 'guy-with-orange-hair' which he seemed to hate. Which was hard to tell because he never even displayed any emotion. Nevertheless, he nodded and walked away to talk to a girl with blue hair and a paper flower on her head.

She turned back to Deidara and who in turn, thrust a pile of cloth into her arms. "Here. Wear these. Pein said you couldn't wear the cloak just yet so I thought I'd lend you some clothes. And you can use my spare towel." He averted his eyes, a light blush on his cheeks.

"I brought some clothes with me." She said pointing to her back.

The blonde stared at her sceptically, eyeing her back. "What are you pointing at, un?"

"My backpack." She looked at him with a confused look on her face.

"There's nothing there, un."

"What?" She looked at him with wide eyes and quickly checked her back to find out if he was telling the truth. She found nothing. She dropped her head at her misfortune, sweat dropping. Then she realized something, a look of terror on her face. "Holy shit!"

"What's wrong?" Deidara almost jumped, startled by Kuroi's sudden outburst. And for some incomprehensible reason, the raven frantically searched her pockets.

"Found it!" She yelled, holding up a small wallet which oddly enough, she started nuzzling with her cheek.

_"A wallet? So she's money-obsessed huh? She'll get along great with Kakuzu, un." _He mused, staring at her in disbelief. He found himself opening his mouth to say something, but was interrupted when Kuroi started pulling out what looked like photos from the wallet, the poor wallet being thrown away. To his horror, it hit Pein's face. On pure reflex, he closed his eyes and waited for the sound of breaking bones. It never came. Confused, Deidara opened his eyes to find Pein knocked out on the floor, being fanned out by Konan. _"Whoa. I knew she was strong, but knocking out Pein with an empty wallet? Whoa. Just whoa."_

Then he heard a voice. "Thanks for the clothes Dei-chan!" A slam followed.

"I wonder who're in those photos. They must be pretty close to her if she carries photos of them." Itachi, who had poofed behind Deidara wondered out loud. A manly squeal escaped from the blonde's lips as he did so.

"Stop doing that, un!" He yelled, glaring daggers at the eldest Uchiha.

* * *

"What do you mean she got away?" Tsunade yelled.

Shikamaru winced at her voice. One would think he was used to it by now, considering his mother was more than enthusiastic to give him a piece of her mind. But nope, he wasn't. "Gomenasai, Tsunade-sama. But we ran into Uchiha Itachi. He used his Mangekyo on us but for some reason, refrained from killing us. He told us that if he even tried to kill us, that_ she _would never forgive him."

"Did you find out who he was referring to? Or even the person Kuroi was with?"

"We couldn't figure out who it was, but we did see that Kuroi was with a blonde girl who looked like she was a member of the Akatsuki. Well either that or an effeminate man, but she looked pretty girly to me. They were travelling by air on some weird clay bird. As for who Uchiha was talking about... I personally think it was Kuroi."

Tsunade's eyes widened as she heard Shikamarau's theory. "Why would someone who massacred his own clan be concerned about his sister's feelings?"

"I can't blame you for doubting my theory, Tsunade-sama. Even I had my doubts. But considering the fact that Kuroi's closest friends and comrades were the ones he refused to kill, I came up with that theory. I don't think that anyone in Akatsuki would care about our deaths." He explained.

The blonde sat quietly in her chair, reflecting on the information she had received. "Fine. I will consider your theory. You may go now. I'll be sure inform you of any news of Kuroi."

"Hai. " They bowed and walked out of the office. Except for one.

It wasn't because he didn't want to leave. It was only because he was too wrapped up in his own misery to care. Kuroi was gone. Just like Sasuke had left them.

"...ruto. Y... ...right?"

He felt pathetic. Once again, he had failed to stop one of his closest friends. He felt like he was falling into oblivion. He choked up tears of remorse and anger, like someone had stuck a finger in his throat. He held his throat gently, feeling something rise up in it. He was drenched in cold sweat, his mouth filling up with saliva. An then he just let it out, muttering "she's gone, she's gone.'

Shizune went to run to Naruto's side but was stopped by a hand. "Tsunade-shishou!"

"I'll handle this." She walked over to him and grabbed his collar to lift him off the floor. She slapped him across the face before letting him go and laying her arms across her chest. Shizune just stared as Tsunade reprimanded the young Genin. "What the hell is wrong with you? What happened to that nindo you're so proud of? I thought you were gonna become hokage, huh? What happened to your dreams?"

Naruto's eyes widened at every single word Tsunade had blurted out. She was right. This was no time to wallow in self-pity. "You're right. I shouldn't give up! I am Uzumaki Naruto, future hokage!" He said, recovering from his trance.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now clean up your puke and get out of my office, I have work to do." She said, waving her hand dismissively.

"Yes ma'm!" The blonde saluted and turned to clean his um... spew.

"Was hitting him really the only solution?" Shizune whispered, staring at Naruto. "I think you hit him a little too hard."

The fifth hokage just laughed, patting the brunette on the back. Wait, let me rephrase that, patting Shizune _hard_ on the back, causing her to fall face-down. It seemed that she still didn't know her own strength. "Naruto learns through his body, so I thought roughing him up a bit might be good for him." She grinned, holding up her thumb.

* * *

"Uh... Deidara?" A voice called from the closed bathroom door, causing the teen in question to look up from what he was doing. He was leaning against the wall next to the door, waiting for Kuroi to finish so he could take her to the meeting room. Molding a random clay sculpture in his hands, he acknowledged her call and answered.

"Yeah?"

There was a pause. Hesitantly, she replied. "Can I borrow some bandages?"

"What for, un? Poor Kuroi-hime got a boo-boo?" He mocked, masked concern in his voice.

"No! Just shut up and tell me where to get them!"

"Alright, un. They're in the medicine cabinet above the sink. Just tell me if cute little Kuroi-hime needs help, ne?" He smirked.

"Whatever." A few minutes passed before she called out again, Deidara uttering a low 'hm?'.

"Do you have a smaller pair of pants?" She said, staring at the pants that she currently wore. They hung low to the point that they showed the boxers that Deidara had lent her, her waist being to small for them. She took them off and folded them, placing them on a table beside the door.

He sighed and replied. "That's my smallest pair, un."

_"Aw man... And my shorts were stained by my spew."_ She thought, blushing in embarrassment at the memory of her puking her guts out. _"Guess I'll have to endure it for now." _She turned the doorknob and told Deidara she was coming out. The blonde in turn, pushed himself off the wall and waited for the girl to come out. He gaped, open mouthed at the figure that came out. She was dressed in the huge black t-shirt he had let her borrow, the sleeves threatening to fall from her shoulders. Plaid boxers adorned her delicate pale hips, almost hidden beneath the shirt. She had black nail polish that Pein had told her to wear painted on her toes and nails. And to top it all off, she wore black and white flip-flops which Itachi had found lying around, the black trim contrasting with her skin. She had refused to wear them at first, but when the aforementioned Uchiha mentioned that there were pieces of glass scattered on the floor from when Tobi had dropped a tray of glasses, she eventually accepted, not wanting any unnecessary wounds to get in the way.

Sure the shirt was big, but it did nothing hide her curves, Deidara had noticed. He shook his head as if to push away his thoughts and opened his mouth to ask a question. "What'd you use the bandages for?"

At first, he didn't think she was gonna answer but then she beckoned him closer and whispered. "Underwear." A light blush was visible on her face as she answered. "B-but, enough of that. What are we gonna do now?"

Deidara hid his amusement and told her to follow him. He led her through a long hall with doors lining it. Kuroi wondered where they were going but swallowed the thought down. She instead, followed the blonde. At the end of the hallway, there was a fork road. Deidara turned right. Kuroi wondered what was on the left side and found herself asking the question unconsciously. The blonde simply told her that she would find out later. As if to add emphasis to his words, he knocked on the door that magically appeared in front of them. The door was opened by a man with a half white, half black face.

"Oh, hey Zetsu." Deidara nodded and gestured for Kuroi to go in. The raven hesitated for a moment but nonetheless continued in. The members were seated on a long table. She noticed some movement to her right and resisted the urge to lunge at it. Being alone for years and having to fend for herself, she learned to be cautious, a little _too _cautious. She turned to look at the thing moving and saw it was Tobi waving at her and telling her to sit next to him. She managed a small smile and walked over to him. At least she had one friend to confide in. She had somehow felt like this was high school, and she was the new kid who tried to fit in with everyone else. And there was always that one kid who accepted you and wanted to be your friend. Like Naruto... She had thought.

She felt like she needed to cry. But she quickly shook her head, not wanting to make a bad impression of herself. _"Not that I haven't already..."_ When she reached him she sat down and stared at her hands, remembering that she had threw up in front of them all. Then she once again, felt a hand on her shoulder, knocking her out of her thoughts. She stared at the owner of the hand, It was Deidara. He mouthed something that she didn't quite catch at first. She shot him a confused look. He mouthed it again, rolling his eyes 'calm down.' She grinned and nodded, mouthing 'thanks' to him, giving him an eyeful of her tongue. _"Let me correct that, I'll have two friends I can trust. Well... kinda." _Their silent conversation was interrupted by Pein who had a small bruise on his head from where Kuroi had hit him with the wallet. Thankfully, he didn't remember anything so Konan just told him that he had slipped on a banana peel and hit his head. (Cliché much? XD)

"This is Kuroi." He pointed to said girl and told them to introduce themselves. "I'm Pein."

"Konan."

"I'm Zetsu."

"Kakuzu."

"Hidan."

"You know me, rookie."

Itachi just nodded, not bothering to say anything.

Sasori stared blankly.

"I'm Tobi! Tobi is a good boy! Will Kuroi be friends with Tobi?" He looked at her. Although she couldn't see his face, she could tell his expression was filled with hope. She smiled and nodded.

Deidara mentally smirked at Tobi's antics and said, "Heh. I'm Deidara."

"Uchiha Kuroi. Looking forward to be of service to you." She grinned.

Pein nodded and turned to Kuroi. "Now for the matter of your initiation. The first part will be done tonight, I will explain the next part tomorrow. Konan will brief you on it. The rest of you are dismissed."

After that, the members started piling out of the room except for, Konan, Kuroi, Deidara and Tobi. "Good luck, Kuroi-chan!" Tobi's voice pierced through his porcelain mask as he shot Kuroi a thumbs up and left. Deidara smiled, mouthed 'good luck' and shut the door, leaving the two kunoichi to talk. Without another word, Konan handed her a small piece of paper. Illegible katakana characters scrawled haphazardly on it. The ex-ANBU captain took it reluctantly, wondering how she was supposed to understand the words. But then she noticed a pattern on it, it slightly took the form of a map. Then she realized that those weren't words, they were paths. One path was colored red, she decided to memorize that. She had a feeling this was gonna be the initiation Deidara was talking about.

When she was done, she handed it back to Konan, who looked slightly taken aback at the speed of her memorization. She shook it off and did a few hand seals, transporting them back to the entrance. "Alright. I'm going to leave you here. You have to find your way back to the main hideout, or starve in the maze. Any questions?"

Kuroi shook her head and smiled. Konan nodded, bid her good luck and poofed back inside.

The raven sighed and stared up at the glittering night sky, imagining her and Sasuke walking back to Konoha, hand in hand with Naruto and the others waiting at the gate. She pushed those thoughts way back, deep into her mind. Wishful thinking will get me nowhere she thought, mimicking Deidara's hand seals and summoning the hatch. She opened it and sat on the edge, taking one last look at the beautiful sky. _"Here goes. Just you watch, Naruto. I'll save my idiot brother." _With that, she let herself fall into the hole, the hatch disappearing.

* * *

"I wonder how Kuroi is doing..." Naruto stared at the photos on his bedside table. One was of team seven, back when he still harbored feelings for Sakura and said girl pushed him away and leaned towards Sasuke. But now it was different. Naruto developed a liking to Sasuke as did Sasuke to him. And Sakura somehow, got together with Gaara. Yes, they were all happy. Until Sasuke left...

"Dammit, Sasuke! If you hadn't left, Kuroi wouldn't have had to run away to find you!" He suddenly found himself punching the wall, drawing blood from his hand. He brought his fist to his face in order to stare at it, not bothering to stop the bleeding.

"What? You emo now, too?" A voice pierced through the eerie silence, causing Naruto to look up from his bleeding hands. "I thought only Sasuke was emo?"

"Ero-sennin? Is that you?"

The owner of the voice showed himself, grinning at Naruto. "Hey kid."

"You're back!" Naruto attempted to stand up but was forced down by Jiraiya.

"You shouldn't push yourself, Naruto. I heard about your mission. Itachi messed you guys up pretty bad... I wonder why he didn't kill you." He said, bandaging Naruto's hand.

"You heard, huh? I was wondering too. Shikamaru said it was because we were Kuroi's friends."

"Well, whatever the reason, I'm just glad you're ok." Jiraiya smiled, patting Naruto's back. "Hey, you should get some sleep. We'll talk tomorrow. Good night."

"Good night." The blonde replied sleepily, drifting off.

* * *

"I'm back!" Kuroi grinned, greeting the people in the room. When they didn't respond, she acted disappointed. "Tough crowd."

"You're back already?" Konan stared in disbelief, but nonetheless escorted her to meet Pein. They went through the hall that Deidara had led her through earlier. But instead of going back to the meeting room, they turned left. Konan released the seal on the door and told her to get in. The raven nodded and entered the room quietly, Konan following shortly after. Kuroi let her eyes adjust to the dim light and took in her surroundings. They were in a large room, almost bigger than her whole apartment altogether. When Kuroi had reached Konoha and heard the dreadful news, she immediately looked for an apartment far away from the Uchiha complex, refusing to live in the house in which her parents have died. She visited often though, checking on the house and keeping it clean. She somehow felt she owed it to Sasuke and her parents, since she was gone in their time of need. She felt vile. If she hadn't gone to train with Yoru-shishou, then maybe, just maybe her parents may still be alive.

She shook the thought out of her being and observed the rest of the room. The walls were painted a dull black, almost grey. The room was exceptionally tidy, with two double beds on either side of the room. There were two dressers, two desks and that was it. The room was plain, no personalization whatsoever. Which wasn't surprising since she heard that the Akatsuki hideouts were spread all around Fire Country. They might even have hideouts in the other nations. They probably moved from one hideout to another in case of discovery she thought.

She moved her attention to the dim light next to one of the beds. Which brought Pein into her vision. He stared blankly at them for a moment before asking Konan where Deidara was. She tensed up as if remembering something, she apologized and went out to get Deidara. The two figures in the room just stared at each other, creating an awkward atmosphere. Kuroi fiddled with her hair and opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted when Konan and Deidara entered the room, the blonde complaining.

"What do you want? It's three in the morning!" He rubbed his eyes, scowl on his face. He surveyed the room and saw Kuroi standing next to Pein. "Oh. You're back already? That was fast."

"That's what I said." Konan stated flatly.

"Good morning, Deidara." Pein said in his odd, monotonous voice. "I thought you'd be happy to hear that you have a new partner."

"Ugh... Who is it this time?" He wined. "Don't you dare tell me it's Itachi!"

"No. He's fine with Kisame and Tobi is going to be teamed up with Sasori now. So I thought you and Kuroi would be a great team since you get along so well, or so I've been informed."

"What?" The two missing-nin in question yelled in unison.

"Meet your new partners. Although she's not quite a full member yet, accept each other as partners _or else._" Pein glared through his Rinnegan, startling the pair.

"Yes sir!" They saluted and faced each other, shaking hands reluctantly. They bore holes into each other's heads with their glares, crushing each other's hands in a death grip. Konan, who felt a terrible aura in the room turned to Pein, who instantly got the message and told Deidara to get Kuroi settled in and to get some rest.

They broke their eye contact and let go of each other's hands, scowls on their faces. They moped back to Deidara's room. Tobi had already moved out. _"The bastard." _Deidara thought, baring his teeth. _"He probably told leader-sama that I liked Kuroi. Not that I do. Do I? Agh! She's messing with my head, un!" _He went over to his bed and started taking off his shirt, completely forgetting about his new roommate.

"What the hell are you doing, baka!" Kuroi yelled and covered her face, her hands muffling something about virgin eyes.

"What's wrong, Princess? Never seen a guy naked before?" He smirked.

"Of course I have!" She started to remove her hand to prove her point but immediately slapped it back when she saw Deidara's chest. "Just put on a damn shirt, teme!"

"Anything for Kuroi-hime." He said, smirk still remaining. Walking to the closet, he pulled out a fresh shirt and put it on, telling Kuroi that she could look. She reluctantly let her hand drop, frowning at the blonde. "Hey, I thought you were gonna mess with _me, _un?"

"Whatever, _un._" She grinned smugly, waiting for his reaction.

Deidara glared at her, trying to think of a comeback. He stuttered out pathetically, blushing from embarrassment. He was about to say something, but Kuroi cut her off before he could even open his mouth.

"Hey, Dei-chan. What do you do for food?"

The blonde pursed his lips and crossed his arms. "I'm not telling."

"Fine, I'll go find the kitchen myself." She said, rolling her eyes. She stepped out of their room and looked around. She spotted Hidan and quickly bounded over happily to him. "Hidan-chan!"

The man in question just stared in horror at what the girl had just called him. He quickly got knocked out of his frozen state and toppled out of the couch and onto the floor as the raven tackled him. "What the fuck do you fucking want, bitch!" He yelled, arms shooting out and searching for something to grab on to.

"I'm hungry!" She grinned.

_"Oh this is just fucking great. Another damn Tobi." _He groaned, pushing the young Uchiha off of him. "The damn kitchen is over there, dumbass." He pointed to a door a few feet away from them. "Now get the fuck away from me and go find someone else to mess with."

"Food! Thanks, Hidan-chan!" She ran to the door and raided the cabinets for some cookies.

"I see you've met her alter-ego, un." Deidara grimaced mockingly, kicking Hidan's shoulder lightly.

"Eat shit and die, fucking metrosexual freak." The foul-mouthed Jashinist shot back, holding out his hand.

The blonde gasped dramatically and grabbed Hidan's hand. "That's not nice, Hidan_-chan_!"

"Shut the fuck up." Hidan said flatly, taking his scythe and dragging it to his and Kakuzu's room.

"Good night to you to, un." Deidara smirked. He moved to sit on the couch but was stopped instantly when he heard a crash in the kitchen. He sighed and jogged over to the source of the loud sound. "What is is now?"

"I fell." Kuroi said, pouty face and all.

"Yeah whatever, let's get some sleep. The second half of your initiation is tomorrow and I'll probably get forced to go babysit you." The blonde rolled his eyes and helped her up, dragging her out of the kitchen and into their room. He threw her onto her bed and flopped down on his own, covering his his eyes with his hands.

"Alright, Dei-chan!" She grinned.

"You know, I think that fake part of you is starting to grow on you. Will you stop acting like that? It's freaking me out. Or at least act yourself when no one's around, un!"

"Come on, Sasuke! Let's go ride 'The spinning Teacups of DOOM!'" The raven muttered in her sleep.

The blonde sighed once again and got up to drape a blanket over Kuroi's sleeping form, smiling lightly. "Good night, Princess."

* * *

**Wow. Everyone is throwing up in this chappie. I guess I went overboard, ne? ^^' Well, whatever. Did you like it? See that button with the cute little speech bubble? Click it! You know you want to... :D**


	4. Void

**Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait, but I finally managed to finish this chapter. I have no valid reason. Just the fact that I have abunch of other things I'm working on. :p**

**Oh, wait. I forgot this for the last two chapters but... what the heck? Better late then never!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't fucking own Naruto. Good enough for ya, Kishi_-chan? _XD**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Rogue: Void**

Deidara shot up from his bed, awakening from a rather scary nightmare. If one could call it a nightmare. It wasn't even that frightening, he just dreamt that a deranged, cocky and childish Uchiha female had joined Akats- CLUNK! He quickly got out of bed, utility belt in hand. Another loud clunk came. His eyes flickered to his bedside table to look at the time. _"4:47. I barely got an hour of sleep, un." _As his eyes roamed back to the door, he noticed that the bed next to his was empty.

_"Tobi's awake__ already_?" Now he was really weirded out. Tobi _never _woke up before him. Sometimes he had to set an explosive under the guy's bed just to wake him up. He quickly shook the thought out of his mind and went back to the task at hand. Hand on the knob, he slowly opened the door, preparing some clay in his free hand. He surveyed the living room - everything seemed to be in the right place - then he heard another sound. It came from the kitchen. As he slowly neared the doorway, his ears picked up a faint humming. Almost like someone was singing. Pressing his body to the wall, he prepared himself so he could easily take offensive action against the supposed intruder. Without so much as a second thought, he threw himself in view of the intruder. Said intruder looked up from her work and lifted up a large butcher knife.

"Oh. Good morning, Dei-chan!"

The aforementioned blonde's eye twitched, utility belt dropping to his side along with the clay he had molded. _"So it wasn't a dream?_ _Great..."_

"Whatever, un." The blonde pushed his messy bed hair away from his face, something he rarely did. He sat on the counter in the middle of the room and idly picked at his fading nail polish. "Why the hell are you up so early?"

She lifted up the knife again and grinned. "Cooking."

Deidara couldn't help but feel shivers down his spine at Kuroi's appearance. He felt the urge to duck behind the counter but decided against it. Instead, he asked Kuroi what she was cooking. She answered with a mere 'hn' and continued chopping whatever she was chopping. He rolled his eyes and examined the object on the chopping board.

"Katsuobushi? You know you're supposed to use a kezuriki for that right?"

"Yeah. But you guys don't seem to have one, so I decided to use my own methods." She smiled.

They sat in silence for a while until Itachi entered the room and bid a barely audible good morning to the pair. Out of curiosity, he looked over to what Kuroi was doing. "You really miss him, don't you?"

The raven tensed up and tightened her grip on the knife. "Damaru." Her voice came out as a low snarl, gritting her teeth and resisting the urge to heave the knife at the older Uchiha. And as if to add emphasis to her demand, she pounded the butcher knife onto the bonita.

"Anything for my cute little imouto." He smirked mockingly, pouring a glass of milk and slowly exiting the kitchen.

There was a lingering silence before Kuroi resumed her task and told Deidara to check on the rice. Deidara, not wanting to be used as stuffing for onigiri, rushed over to the steamer.

"This never happened." Kuroi whispered threateningly as the blonde passed her. He knew he shouldn't show any fear to a female, and an Uchiha at that. But _damn,_ she was scary. So he nodded and checked on the rice.

"Hey, I'm gonna go get my stuff ready for today, ne? Call me when breakfast's ready." He grinned awkwardly.

"Alright, Dei-chan!" She called back. And for the nth time that morning, Deidara's eye twitched. Nonetheless, he made his way to their room until he spotted Itachi on the couch. He ignored the Uchiha at first, but then he thought of something. Facing the raven, he made weird hand gestures that made him look like he needed to pee. Itachi glanced at him and if it weren't for his impeccable self control, he would've laughed his ass off. So instead, he smirked and said, "The bathroom's over there, Deidara."

The blonde glared at him and almost threw the clay sculpture he had made earlier at the stoic raven. He then decided that hand gestures would get him nowhere and mouthed 'come with me.' Itachi just stared blankly at him. To this, Deidara looked like he was about to swear but then he got another idea. This time, he mouthed 'it's about Kuroi.' He noticed Itachi's eyes widen for a millisecond and smirked, knowing that he had caught the Uchiha's attention. Itachi stood up slowly and followed Deidara to the hallway, where Kuroi was out of earshot.

"What about her?" The Sharingan user asked in an uncharacteristic and demanding tone.

"I just wanted to find out what happened back there. She seemed really pissed."

Itachi's eyes narrowed at this, his 'overprotective brother' instincts kicking in. "Don't tell me you've somehow developed an infatuation with my little sister."

"O-of course not! And even if I did, why would you care, un? I thought you hated your family!"

Itachi shot a glare at Deidara, his eyes a glowing red. Fortunately, Deidara took this as a sign to shut up and saved himself from getting murdered in cold blood. Itachi nodded and glided gracefully to the room he shared with Kisame.

"Wait!" Deidara called, causing Itachi to look back and raised his eyebrow. Oh, one couldn't muster the amount of pain the blonde wanted to cause him right know... But alas, in the ninja world, merely punching someone earns you a kunai in the gut. With all the self-control he could gather, he politely complied to the Uchiha's questioning stare. "Will you _please _just tell me what happened?"

The raven stared at him for a moment before answering. "I don't feel like taking to you right now. Go ask Kuroi."

Alright, if Deidara wasn't trying to get an answer out of the Uchiha, he would've thrown an explosive at him by now. But... He was, so... yeah. "No way, un. She'll have my head if I even bring it up!"

"And you're sure that I won't have the intention of doing it to you as well?"

The blonde glared at him for a moment before sighing in defeat. "Fine! Damn Uchihas..." Mumbling the last part, he dragged his feet to the kitchen.

"Oh, hey Deidara! You're back already? Did you finish packing?" Kuroi beamed, mixing the rice with the seasoned katsuobushi.

"Y-yeah... Hey." He stuttered, suddenly finding the cold, black-tiled floor interesting. "I just um... wanted to know why you acted all pissed when Itachi mentioned Sas-"

"I told you not to worry about it, didn't I?"

_"Actually, what you said sounded somewhat like a threat." _He sweat dropped mentally. "You know you can tell me, right? I am your partner after all."

Kuroi stared at her hands, as if to think about the blonde's offer. "Alright. I'll tell you. Okaka onigiri is Sasuke's favorite dish. Me and my mother used to make it for him while he and Itachi trained. We were around five back then, when I was still in Konoha. Before I was sent to train with Yoru-shishou. I loved seeing Sasuke's smile when I told him we would be having onigiri for lunch. He was so innocent, so pure. It just breaks my heart to know that I could've stopped Itachi and saved Sasuke from being what he is now. If I hadn't gone away he-"

She felt arms wrap around her trembling form, halting her words. "Baka. It's not your fault. It's no one's fault, un."

"B-but... I-"

Deidara sighed and held her at arms length. "Look, I'm forcing myself to be sensitive and mushy right now so don't waste my effort, ne?" He smiled. And with a little difficulty, his eyes were curved in a smile that looked supposedly comforting. Well, that's if you squint.

Kuroi laughed at his awkward expression and wiped her tears away. "Thanks, Deidara. You're... kind of a good friend."

"Yeah, yeah. Now stop whining about your hard past and finish that onigiri would ya?" He grinned halfheartedly.

* * *

"Breakfast's ready!" Kuroi yelled, setting the table and all the while waking up anyone still asleep in the premises of the hideout. She had a rather scary look on her face, one couldn't really tell. It was kinda a mix between a grin and wide eyes. Top that off with a dirty cleaver and a messy apron, and you've got a deranged, psychopathic she-devil.

"Wow... This is actually good." Kisame beamed, munching happily on a rice ball.

"Tobi thinks Kuroi is a great cook!" Tobi exclaimed, reaching for seconds. Oddly enough, nobody saw Tobi take of his mask whilst eating. Everyone was wondering where the food was going though. Kuroi guessed he used a transportation jutsu to get the onigiri into his mouth. If not that, his hands were to fast to be seen.

"Thanks, Tobi!" She grinned, taking her apron off and sitting between Deidara and Hidan. "Good morning, Hidan-chan!"

Hidan almost fell out of his chair, hearing a faint ringing in his ear. "Dammit Kuroi!"

"Sorry!" The raven grimaced mischievously, faking a smile and holding up a peace sign.

"Hey, Kuroi. We'll be leaving in a few. Go get ready, un." Deidara declared, entering the dining room.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" She picked up four rice balls, enveloped them in seaweed wrap and shoved them into a paper bag. Picking up the bag, she went to the room she and Deidara shared and took a few clothes from his - soon to be their - closet, rushing off into the bathroom to change. The raven came out wearing black boxers, borrowed black sandals from Sasori, who not that surprisingly, had the exact same size as her. And on her torso, the tightest-fitting sweater the blonde artist possessed. It was black and hung loose against her thin form, it was really annoying how impossibly thin she was. And Deidara wasn't even fat in the slightest! Maybe she should eat more... Oh wait, she does! Her damn body just did too much work for her to gain any weight. But, at least small bodies worked well with her chosen profession. Grabbing her newly-polished katana(courtesy of an ecstatic Tobi) and the paper bag she had prepared earlier, she exited the room only to find that Deidara, Pein and Konan were waiting for her outside.

"We're here to brief you on your mission. Please take a seat." The blue-haired paper user pointed to the couch where Deidara sat, none too pleased about having to come with the Uchiha. Kuroi reluctantly sat next to the blonde who was sluggishly drumming his fingers on the leather surface of the couch.

Kuroi inhaled a sharp intake of breath, getting ready t- "Don't even try." Deidara grumbled, almost smirking at Kuroi's defeated look.

The 'hyper' raven pouted, stuck her tongue out childishly and buried herself deeper into the couch.

"Your mission is to recover the ring of former member Orochimaru, in return, you may wear it and become a full member of Akatsuki." Pein stated.

Kuroi's eyes widened. She could have a chance to save Sasuke!

"Zetsu has been patrolling the area near Orochimaru's hideout and he currently hasn't shown any signs of movement. Zetsu will accompany you until you arrive. You have by sundown to retrieve the ring. Any questions?" Konan said flatly.

"None, thank you." Kuroi grinned, dragging Deidara to the door. She gave a small wave before going outside to meet Zetsu.

They met with their guide and ran through the maze. Once outside, Deidara molded a clay bird and mounted it, motioning for his companions to get on.

"The hideout's not that far. It will only take us mere hours to get there. Fly in that direction." The plant-like shinobi said, adjusting his cloak.

* * *

"We have arrived. I will leave the infiltration to you. Good luck." With that said, he dismounted and disappeared into the treetops.

"Where exactly are we? All I see is trees." Kuroi stated, surveying the piece of land before her.

"Don't you have x-ray vision? You know, like that Neji kid." The blonde said boredly.

The Uchiha thought for a moment. "That would be the Byakugan, idiot." She smirked.

"Yeah, whatever! Just shut up and start looking, un."

"We don't need to. I sense some movement directly below us." With her katana at the ready, she prepared her apparatus for the mission. "Get ready to dismount, we'll be spotted easily if we land on this thing. Oh, and in case that we get split up, I borrowed some radios from the weapon room while everyone was asleep. I'm on channel 3." And with that, she pulled Deidara off with her.

They landed in a tree and Kuroi told him that this would be the rendezvous point if they needed to split up. "See that boulder over there? It's a genjutsu. Typical. Keep watch while I dispel it." She formed some hand seals and released the genjutsu, unmasking a stairway that led underground. "Alright, before going in, hide your chakra signature and uh... be careful, ne?"

The artist's eyes softened for a moment, inwardly shocked that she could lose her fake, annoying, Tobi-like attitude and instantly turn into a professional kunoichi. "Maybe you should worry more about yourself, Princess." Deidara smirked, pushing the girl into the dark hole.

"Ow! What the fuck was that for?" Kuroi yelled.

The blonde pranced mockingly down the stairs and helped the girl up. "Oh, nothing. I guess you're not the only one who likes messing with people, un."

Kuroi glared at Deidara, murderous intent glistening in her eyes. But instead of lunging at the blonde artist, she was pulled into the shadows. She started struggling in Deidara's grip, her words muffled by his hand. "Lrrmmt... guo..mrr!"

"Shut up!" The blonde hissed. To his relief, Kuroi stopped struggling enough to feel the other presence in the room. But that didn't stop said person from throwing a kunai at the pair. Luckily, it missed their heads by an inch. But then they were met with another dilemma as the figure started to reach over to retrieve his kunai. _"Kami-sama please don't let him see us..."_

"Sasuke-kun." A voice called.

_"Sasuke?" _Kuroi had a sudden urge to push Deidara away and run over to her dearest otouto. But she swallowed it down, knowing that she would lose everything if she made her presence known.

Sasuke perked up, not even bothering to spare a glance at his caller. "Hn."

"Orochimaru-sama has something to discuss with you. He said it was about your training."

Sasuke looked happy, delighted even! Sighing in fake boredom, he walked away from the pair and quickly made his way to his caller's side, (not too quickly, though. Uchihas are 'too cool' for that.) instantly forgetting his discarded kunai.

Once they were out of earshot, Deidara let go of the Uchiha, sighing in relief. "Come on, let's get going before we run into any more of Orochimaru's slaves."

"Th-that was Sasuke. He's here! I can't believe it!" She whispered as tears fell down from her face.

"Hey, Kuroi. You ok, un?" Deidara asked, concerned. "You know, you cry too much." He sighed, rubbing her back soothingly.

"Yeah, don't worry about me. I'm just happy." She smiled, wiping her tears away. "Come on, let's get this over with."

"Heh. Whatever you say, Princess."

They navigated through the long, twisting halls of the snake-enthusiast's hideout, stopping here and there to eat the onigiri Kuroi had packed for them. Then they came across a door that was different from the others, as this one had snakes embedded into the wood. Orochimaru's room. Kuroi held a finger to her lips as they sneaked up to the door. Not feeling any movement within the room, she slowly opened the door. "Is that it?" She asked, spotting a ring on a severed hand.

"Gross, ne?" Deidara grinned.

"Yup."

* * *

Rays of light flooded into the room as Jiraiya opened the curtains to wake the sleeping blonde. "Wake up, brat!" The sage beamed.

"Am I Hokage yet?" Naruto mumbled, half asleep.

"No."

"Wake me up in a few years." He snuggled back into his warm bed, ignoring the glare his sensei threw his way.

"So I guess I'll have to finish my cupped ramen alone then." Jiraiya smirked.

"Where? Mine!" The blonde leaped into the air and grabbed the toxic snack, tossing his head back in maniacal laughter. "IT'S MINE! IT'S MINE!"

"Yeah that's great, kid. Knock yourself out."

Jiraiya stared with soft eyes at his blonde student, watching him swallow the contents of the cup. Once he had finished gobbling up his 'breakfast', Jiraiya told Naruto to get dressed and they went out for a walk. They climbed the monument and walked along it's rough edges, looking over the village.

"Hey Naruto, about Itachi. What exactly did he tell you?"

"Well, he said something about some girl who would never forgive him if he even tried to kill us. Then he left, saying he wanted to see me again."

"Did you find out who she was?"

"Shikamaru said it was probably Kuroi." The blonde looked away, focusing on the village below.

"Kuroi?" Jiraiya frowned, deep in thought. "Why would he care about her? He practically murdered the rest of his clan."

"I don't know! Why the hell are you asking me?" Naruto yelled.

Jiraiya fell silent, his voice faltering in realization that he had hurt Naruto. "I-i'm sorry, kid." _"Watch what you say, you idiot." _Jiraiya thought in a mental face-palm.

"It's fine, you didn't mean it." He smiled a small smile, facing the sage.

"Wanna head back?" Jiraiya studied his student with concern, Naruto was not one to be easily disheartened like this. He was usually the one who made things brighter, not the other way around.

"No, it's okay. We can still talk, just not about them, ne?"

"Alright whatever you say." Jiraiya smiled reluctantly. "I heard Kiba's in pretty bad shape, huh? Wanna go visit him later?"

Naruto's ever-present grin returned and he shook his head yes. "Sure."

* * *

"That was disgusting, un! Who puts a ring on a rotting severed hand?" Deidara groaned, steering his newly crafted clay bird. They had managed to retrieve the ring and escape from the premises of Orochimaru's hideout.

Kuroi sighed in relief and studied the ring. It was a a dark tint of blue, with the Kanji for 'void' on it. She then pocketed it and tightened her grip on Deidara. "Well at least we got the job done. Ne, Dei-chan?" She grinned.

Deidara rolled his eyes at Kuroi's immediate change in personality but smiled anyway. Somehow, he had gotten used to that side of her. Hey, at least it kept him amused right? They kept silent for a while until Kuroi asked Deidara if he wanted some onigiri, to which said blonde nodded and landed in one of the trees.

"Hey Deidara, don't you think this mission was a little _too _easy? I mean for a supposedly difficult mission, not even one fight?"

The hot-headed artist thought for a moment and took a bite of his onigiri, munching along with his thoughts. He swallowed and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "You're right, Princess. I'm gonna look around. Stay here, un."

The blonde walked out of the clearing and walked in the direction of Orochimaru's hideout. He stopped and surveyed his surroundings. Creating four kage bunshins, he sent them to explore in other directions as he continued on.

* * *

Sasuke jumped from treetop to treetop. That damned Orochimaru had sent him to pursue the intruders who stole his ring. Well, whoever they were, they were going to get themselves eaten by Manda and then get spit out later and then burned by a goukakyuu jutsu. Yes, leaving Naruto and his friends, almost getting killed and siding with Orochimaru did _this_ to him.

Sasuke shifted his gaze to the bushes next to him as he heard a noise. Throwing a kunai to towards it, he heard a poof signalling a broken clone justu. "Found you." He whispered under his breath, running to the direction that the clone came from.

* * *

Deidara looked up suddenly, glancing in the direction where he sent his third clone. "Shit! Hang in there, Kuroi."

The blonde dashed through the forest, his black cloak billowing behind him.

* * *

Kuroi was bored. B-O-R-E-D. Deidara had been gone for half an hour, twice the time it should've taken to track a spy. She was about to get up and look for him when she heard something rustling in the branches. She brought a hand to her katana and stood up in a defensive stance, getting ready to lash out if needed. She surveyed the thicket before her, watching for any movement within the thick bushes. A raven haired shinobi then emerged from the thick foliage, a seemingly passive look on his pale face.

"Sa-sasuke?" Kuroi's hand dropped from her katana's handle and she started to make her way towards her dear brother.

"Stop. Who are you?." He demanded, removing his katana from it's holder.

Kuroi was dumbfounded. Her brother didn't even remember her! But that wasn't enough to stop her from trying to get him back. "It's Kuroi, Sasuke. Your twin sister!"

Sasuke frowned. "My sister is dead."

Kuroi bit back tears at that statement. It came so smooth yet venomous and it hurt. Nonetheless, she still tried. The hurt she was feeling now was nothing compared to what he had experienced. "I'm not, Sasuke! Don't you remember? I was sent by Otou-san to train with an old friend of his. You left Konoha before I could see you again."

Sasuke stared at the girl in front of him. She _did_ look like him and staring at her made him recall certain memories.

_~Flashback~_

_"I wish we could stay like this forever."_

_Itachi, Kuroi and Sasuke were lying on a flowery field, staring at the stars. Itachi and Kuroi shifted their eyes toward Sasuke, smiling sadly at his comment._

_"Do you really have to leave, Kuroi?" Sasuke sat up, worried eyes lingering on his sister._

_Kuroi returned his stare with a sympathetic look, ruffling his spiky raven locks. "Don't worry, bro. I'll come back! And when I do, you guys'll be the best ninjas in Konoha! In the meantime, I'm counting on you to take care of kaa-san, tou-san and nii-san, ne?"_

_"Hai!" Sasuke grinned, pulling Kuroi into a hug._

_Itachi smiled at his siblings, chuckling. "Any room for me in there?" _

_His two siblings looked at each other and grinned, both having the same idea. They then tackled Itachi and tickled him, laughing loudly. "Tickle fight!"_

_"Alright, alright! I surrender!" Itachi pushed them off gently, tears in his eyes. Still laughing._

_Fugaku then appeared, coughing to get their attention. "It's time to go, Kuroi. You have a long journey ahead of you."_

_Kuroi looked a her father curiously. "You're not coming, father?"_

_"No. I have a lot of business that I need to take care of. Hotaru-kun will escort you." And just like that, a boy not much older than her brother appeared beside Fugaku. _

_"Good evening, Kuroi-sama. Please allow me to carry your bags for you." He bowed, extending an arm out to Kuroi._

_The young Uchiha just pushed past him and grabbed her bags by the tree. "I can carry them myself." Walking away, she stared back at her siblings and mouthed, "Mata ne."_

_Fugaku nodded at his sons and left. Sending a warning look Itachi's way, the younger returning it immediately._

_"Come on, Sasuke. Let's go back inside."_

_~End Flashback~_

Sasuke's eyes widened in recognition. "You! I remember now! You're m-"

"Kuroi! Are you hurt?" The blonde artist appeared from the thick bushes, immediately rushing over to Kuroi's side. He stood protectively in front of her, not bothering to look at who he was protecting her from. When he finally managed to get a glimpse of the guy, his determined face faltered. "Uchiha Sasuke?"

Sasuke stared at Deidara's cloak, recognizing the red clouds. His eager facade then twisted into a frown, his eyes whipping back to meet Kuroi's. "Kuroi, you've joined them?" He demanded. "After all those promises of coming back to Konoha, you've betrayed your own village?"

"I did come back, Sasuke! But you already left when I got back so I saw this as a chance to see you again!" Kuroi stared with pleading eyes at her fuming brother, scared that he might leave her again. "Please try to understand. I did this for you, otouto!"

Sasuke looked down, his eyes covered by long raven locks. "Don't call me that."

"Wh-what?" Kuroi stammered. Deidara could tell that she was trying to hold back from lashing out at Sasuke. He could see her sweaty palms clenching into fists, as if to keep her anger and frustration from bursting out of her system.

Sasuke brought angry, damp eyes to glare at his sister. "Y-you! Ugh, just leave."

"Come on, Kuroi. We'd bett-" Before Deidara could even pull her away, Kuroi pushed his hand off hers and stood her ground

Kuroi had snapped. Sasuke telling her to leave did that to her. "Like you're any better, Sasuke! You had everything in Konoha, friends, a boyfriend, a _life! _And still, you left. You don't have the right to get mad at me for running away to get you back! You... you... Sas...ke" Kuroi was breathing hard, losing consciousness. Before she could hit the floor, Deidara made a grab for her thin body.

Sasuke threw a worried look Deidara's way, almost giving in and running to Kuroi. Deidara returned it with an almost smile, carrying Kuroi to his clay bird. "Don't worry, I'll take care of her."

The raven's indifferent facade returned, returning his katana to it's holder. He nodded and ran back to the direction he came from.

* * *

"Deidara?" Kuroi got up, pushing her hair away from her face.

"Hey, you're awake. Were almost back, un."

"What? Where's Sasuke!"

Deidara fell silent, staring at the path ahead. Kuroi raised an eyebrow, thinking for a moment. Her eyes widened, her concerned look turning into a frown. "You asshole! We have to go back! I had a chance!"

"Just stop, Kuroi. We only have until sundown and the sun's already starting to set, un."

Kuroi glared at Deidara. "Tch. Fine."

The blonde sighed mentally, making a sharp turn away from an incoming tree.

* * *

"Just shut up, Deidara!" Kuroi burst into the room, running past Itachi and rushing to her room.

Itachi immediately got up and pinned Deidara to the wall. "What did you do." He demanded, bringing a kunai to Deidara's throat.

The blonde's mouth started to open in protest but he quickly stopped himself. He replaced his surprised disposition with a mocking smirk. "Wow, Itachi. Protective much?"

The Uchiha let go of Deidara's shirt, glaring at him with all his might. Which was... pretty scary considering Itachi's capacities. "Tell me."

* * *

Itachi's eyes widened. "She saw Sasuke?"

"Yeah, it was bad and she ended up fainting in the end. So I carried her away and she got mad."

"Deidara." Itachi glared with piercing eyes at the blond artist, getting a hold of his shoulders. "You can't let my sister get Sasuke to come home."

"Are you kidding? That's the whole reason she-"

"I'm aware. However, Sasuke can _not_ find out the truth. I know for a fact that the he could find out what really happened if he came back. It will be better this way. No one will get hurt. So I'm asking you, as a... friend."

"Well, I never really thought of you as a friend, but as a rival, actually. Heh." Deidara scratched the back of his head, an awkward look on his face.

Itachi's ever-present glare remained, his onyx eyes looking as if they glared into Deidara's soul. "I'm serious, Deidara."

Deidara focused his blue eyes on Kuroi's door, managing a small frown and looking back at Itachi. He rolled his eyes and loosened himself from the Uchiha's grip, walking away. "You know, you're too serious sometimes. But whatever, I'll think about it." And with that, he entered his and Kuroi's room, yawning lazily.

_"I think I'll take a nap. But first I got some unfinished business I have to take care of, un." _Deidara brought a sympathetic look to stare at Kuroi who was lying asleep on a tear-stained pillow. He then took the ring from her pocket and examined it, his eyes going from the ring to Kuroi. "You've got a hard life, Princess."

The blue-eyed artist pocketed the ring and walked to Pein's room, silently shutting the door.

* * *

**I'm sorry for all the confusion this chapter has brought you, my dear readers. I'll try to make it all clear in the next one, ne?**

**Hotaru is another OC but he's probably not gonna play a big part in this fic. Just a couple of flash backs maybe. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Anger

**Hey guys! Have I told you that you guys rock? No? Well here it it is: YOU ROCK! :D Love your reviews. ****You guys helped me write this chappie faster(kinda ^^'). So here it is!**

**Sorry about the ever-present lateness of my updates. School sucks I tell you!**

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**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Rogue: Anger**

_"Oi, Kuroi!" _

Kuroi was dreaming. It wasn't one of those normal dreams, no. It was one of those dreams that made no sense at all.

_"Kuroi! Are you okay? Oi." _

_"Who are you?"_

_"You've been crying a lot, you know. It's already pooled up here. What's wrong, Kuroi?"_

_"It's none of your business. Where am I?"_

_"I don't know. Do you know?" A small light then opened, illuminating the spacious room. The floor was flooded, the water already reaching her knees. Kuroi saw a small figure under a white sheet._

_Kuroi stared at it and sighed, bringing a hand to her neck. "I don't know either."_

_"Where are we, Kuroi?"_

_"I don't know..." Kuroi stepped back a bit, feeling uncertain._

_"Are we meant to be here? Or should we go?"_

_"I-i don't know! Why are you asking m-"_

_"Who are we?" The white sheet was pulled away, revealing a mirror image of Kuroi. Almost an exact clone, except everything was in the opposite position._

_Kuroi stared in horror, trying to run but her legs wouldn't move. The clone smiled at her and Kuroi closed her eyes, wishing she would wake up._

_"Hey, Kuroi! Look, it's me, Sasuke!" _

_Kuroi opened her eyes only to see her brother with empty eye sockets and skin as white as snow. He was smiling, blood coming out of his eye sockets and cracks in his skin._

_"He...help... D-dei...dara" Kuroi was breathing hard, inhaling huge gulps of air but none doing her any good._

_"Kuroi!" A different voice called out to her, as if pulling her away from her nightmares. And then she was finally able to run, chancing a glimpse behind her._

Kuroi shot up from her bed, sweaty and crying. Deidara was staring at her with worried eyes. Kuroi quickly got up and hugged the blonde, still shaking and crying from the nightmare. Deidara's eyes widened in shock but he hurriedly returned the hug, comforting his roommate.

"Hey... Don't worry, un. You're okay, see?" Deidara let go and placed his hands on the raven's cheeks, wiping the tears away with his thumbs.

Kuroi smiled and hugged him tighter, wiping her sweat with her sleeve. After a while, she suddenly pulled away, her eyes wide and searching. "What time is it? We have to report back to Pein and Konan!" Kuroi rushed clumsily to the door, stumbling over random clothing strewn on the floor.

"Kuroi... Kuroi! Hey, Kuroi!" Deidara took a hold of her left hand, bringing it close to her face.

"What?" The Uchiha stared at the hand Deidara was showing her. It didn't look any different it was still her- "Woah. When did you?"

"While you were asleep. Yep. You're in, Princess." The blonde let go of the girl's hand, smiling.

Kuroi grinned happily, running to the door. "I gotta go tell Tobi!" Before closing the door, the raven turned around to face her roommate, a pink tint gracing her cheeks. "Hey, Deidara. Thanks."

Deidara smirked, the same blush present on his features. "You're welcome, Princess."

* * *

"Ah, Sasuke-kun. You're back. Orochimaru-sama has called for you." Kabuto stated.

"Hai, hai."

Sasuke walked quietly through the halls, recalling the events prior. _"Like you're any better, Sasuke!" _Those words kept repeating in his head. That girl, he recognized her. She was his sister. From what he recalled, they had never fought before, they were very close and she... "Focus." He muttered under his breath, finally reaching Orochimaru's room.

"Welcome back, Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru sat on a chair, playing with six white snakes entwined in his fingers.

"What do you want?" Sasuke demanded.

Orochimaru chuckled darkly, sending one snake slithering up Sasuke's body until it wrapped itself around his neck. "You amaze me. You've witnessed what I can do yet you still disrespect me."

The young Uchiha sneered at the older man and beheaded the snake around his neck.

"That was not nice, Sasuke-kun. But no matter, I can always create another one." He smirked, stroking the head of a snake that appeared on his lap. "Now for the real reason I summoned you. It has come to my attention that Akatsuki has recruited a new member."

Sasuke's eyes widened for a millisecond before he quickly retorted as to prevent any suspicion. "Yes, I've heard."

"Good. Her name is Kuroi. We haven't gotten a hold of her last name yet. I want you to steal her from Akatsuki or kill her in the process. Either way, we will be benefited."

"Fine. Is there a time limit?"

"The sooner the better, Sasuke-kun."

* * *

Naruto and Jiraiya walked up the steps of the hospital, chatting idly as they made their way to Kiba's room.

"Hey Kiba." Naruto sat beside the brunette and his dog, holding up a paper bag. "I got you guys some jerky."

"Thanks, Naruto." Kiba grinned, digging into the bag. "What's up with your hand, Naru?"

"Oh this? Yeah... It's no-" The blonde smiled sheepishly.

"Little idiot kept hitting his wall." Jiraiya stated, ruffling Naruto's hair.

Kiba laughed and smiled knowingly at the blonde, sympathetic eyes hovering over deep blue pools. "Don't worry, dude. She'll be back."

Naruto returned the brunette's smile half-heartedly, looking out the window. _"Hope so."_

* * *

Tobi was ecstatic. Well more in a state of shock, actually. But that was beside th point. Kuroi had officially joined the Akatsuki, and everyone had gathered to celebrate... Most of them, that is. Kakuzu was loafing around somewhere, counting his beloved money, Zetsu was busy on a mission, Konan went away with Pein and the ones present were either dragged over by Diedara or were willingly celebrating Kuroi's achievement.

"Omedetou gozaimasu!" Tobi cheered, jumping around happily.

Hidan took a gulp of his sake, rubbing his temples. "Shut the fuck up, dumbass."

"Come on, Hidan_-chan_!" Deidara smirked, imitating Kuroi's voice. "It's a party, be happy and stop swearing for once, un!"

"You are so drunk." Hidan hiccuped, sending a grimace his way.

Kisame grinned and ruffled Hidan's hair. "Speak for yourself."

The silver haired man just brushed him off, raising his middle finger. Sasori sat quietly, not making conversation with anyone. Itachi just stared intently at his sister, making the younger girl uncomfortable.

"Okay! Who's up for some ka-ra-oh-key!" Deidara screamed. As Hidan had intelligently pointed out, he was _so _drunk.

The silver haired male rolled his eyes at his comrade and took another sip of wine. Kuroi laughed and mentally thanked the drunken Deidara for giving her something to do instead of just sitting there and being stared at. Deidara jutsued up a karaoke machine and took the mike, striking horror in the hearts of his comrades. He began to choose from the list of the hundreds of songs he had.

"This is gonna be a _long _night." Hidan downed a shot and proceeded to drown out the blonde's wailing. As did the most of the company present.

* * *

"You idiot. I've told you countless times not to drink too much." Sasori scolded his former partner flatly. He held the blonde's hair disgustedly, having no choice but to do so since the others were either too uncaring to help, have inexplicably disappeared, or have irresponsibly immersed themselves into a state of incoherence. The artist merely spilled a large portion of his stomach's contents in reply. "Pathetic."

_"Come to think of it, Kuroi and Itachi have been gone for half an hour now." _Sasori frowned, not liking the thought one bit. He had taken a liking to the girl. He didn't know why. He just assumed that he respected her for her exceptional abilities. And before his mind could wander any further, his former partner had collapsed in his arms. "Tch. Idiot."

Sasori dragged the blonde onto the couch and was about to proceed to his room when he heard a loud crash.

* * *

Kuroi moved swiftly and silently along the maze, trying to lose her brother. It was no use, the older Uchiha's Sharingan could anticipate her path. Hence, he decided to stop and face her pursuer. She quietly readied herself for any impending conflict. Itachi finally emerged from the shadows, his demeanor as stoic as ever.

"What do you want?" Kuroi sneered, her eyes glowing red.

Itachi merely stared at his sister, as if waiting for her to make a move. The aura of it all was suffocating, two pairs of crimson eyes in an eternal battle, one pair tensed with anger and the other stoic but mocking. The girl drew her katana from it's holder, training the tip of the blade at her brother's pale neck.

"What do you _want._" The girl's words came out as more of a demand than that of a question.

Itachi smirked as he deactivated his kekkei genkai. "Simply for you to forgive me, dear imouto."

Kuroi's glare only intensified as she pressed the blade onto her brother's neck. Hard enough to hurt but controlled to draw only a a small trickle of blood. Somehow, even through her hatred towards Itachi, she couldn't bring herself to inflict a bigger, deeper wound than what she had given him. She _despised _herself for that.

"Holding back? I thought you hated me?"

"Shut up!"

"Whatever makes you happy, dear imouto."

Before Kuroi could stop herself, she delivered a Raikiri onto the wall behind her brother. The wall crumbled into pieces and Itachi let out a smirk. "You're still too weak."

The younger Uchiha felt a sharp jab on her pressure point. _"I let my guard down..."_ In mere seconds, Kuroi felt herself falling. She cursed as her katana clattered to the ground, her eyes finally closing. Itachi caught her before she hit the ground. Just in time for Sasori to locate them in the winding maze. The redhead's features twisted into a barely noticeable frown as Itachi held Kuroi in his arms. "What did you do?" He almost shouted. For some incomprehensible reason, he found himself wanting to protect the girl.

Itachi smirked. "Do I sense concern in your tone, Akasuna no Sasori?"

Sasori's eyes bore into Itachi's skull. "Hiruko." Sasori stated. A cloud of smoke appeared in front of Itachi and the summoned puppet snatched Kuroi from his hands, encasing her in the protective shell. The puppet master then proceeded to reverse the summoning technique and walk away without another word to Itachi.

The latter just stared at the retreating figure. "Interesting."

* * *

Sasori entered the room and summoned Hiruko. Carrying Kuroi out, he poked Deidara with his foot. "Wake up, baka." When the blonde finally woke up, he thrusted Kuroi's body into Deidara's hands. "Your partner."

The blonde artist blinked and Sasori poofed away along with Hiruko. Deidara stared at the girl in his hands. She looked so peaceful when she slept, he thought. _"Heh. Compared to the annoyingly hyper monstrosity she is when she's awake." _Deidara erased his musings from his mind and concentrated on why she was asleep anyway. He thought back to the party, the food, the sake. "Hidan was drunk, Tobi was singing, Kisame was eating, Sasori was as indifferent as ever, I was... drunk." He grimaced at the thought of what he could've done. He gently set Kuroi down on the couch and continued his thinking. "I think Itachi was... Itachi was... _Staring _at her." His features immediately twisted into a frown as he stalked off to find the aforementioned Uchiha.

"Damn Uchiha!" Deidara bombed the door to Kisame and Itachi's room.

"What is it, Deidara?" Kisame drawled, rubbing away the remnants of his hangover.

"Where's Itachi, un?" The blonde grabbed the utterly confused and dizzy man by his collar, glaring daggers into his eyes.

Kisame yawned. "Don't shout, Dei. That hurts. Alright, alright. Stop gripping my cloak like that, you'll ruin it. Itachi went out for some dangos if you must know."

The blue-skinned man was unceremoniously dropped to the floor and the blonde fled out of the room. "Heh, you are so fun to mess with."

"I heard that, asshole!"

"Yeah, that's what I was going for."

"Shut up."

* * *

Itachi took a sip of his tea and chewed softly on his dango. He regretted putting Kuroi out earlier, but he kept telling himself it was for the best. He had to make sure that she didn't find out the truth. He had to protect his family _and _ the village. He had to take calming breaths when he felt the cup crack under his firm grip. "Tch." Itachi pushed himself up and left more money on the table than he needed to. For the damages, he told himself. He slowly walked down the path back to the hideout, he had cooled down long enough. Besides, a certain blonde probably wanted to give him a beating for what he did.

On that note, Itachi poofed himself back home. The things he dragged himself into.

* * *

Deidara rose up from the hatch and trudged on, almost forgetting to close it. When he turned around, he was greeted with the sight of none other than the cause of his anger. His fist immediately found it's way to Itachi's face only to be sidestepped by the raven. Deidara felt himself falling but quickly caught himself before he hit the ground. He glared back at the Uchiha and charged at him with a kunai in hand. The older male merely grabbed his hand and threw him to the nearest tree.

"Are you done?" Itachi drawled, slowly advancing towards the artist.

"Teme!" Deidara lunged at Itachi and threw himself at him. Before he could even land, Itachi pulled him and pinned him down to the ground. "Let go, asshole!"

Itachi sighed and stared into the blonde's eyes. "I thought you were going to help me?"

"I said I would think about it!" He struggled to get away from Itachi's grip, to no avail. "And what's up with _your_ promise? You said no one would get hurt, un!" Deidara delivered a powerful kick to Itachi's stomach, making the raven release his captive.

"I have no choice. I have to keep her mad at me. If she finds out, her anger will be averted to the village."

"So you're saying that hurting her is part of your plan? What kind of fucked up mind do you have, Uchiha?"

Itachi averted his eyes. Bits of memories with his siblings flashed into his mind. He would never forgive himself if they became like him. He faced the blonde with a determined look on his face "Deidara. I have no intention of dragging you into something you don't want any part in. So, if you don't want to help me, I won't force you. Goodbye." He formed a few hand seals and disappeared before Deidara could stop him.

"Hey wait! We're not done yet!" Deidara could only watch as a puff of smoke enveloped Itachi. "Tch. Damn Uchiha."

* * *

Kuroi slept peacefully on the couch, probably dreaming. Tobi entered the room and out of curiosity, poked the sleeping figure. Kuroi, being overly sensitive to unfamiliar stimuli, woke up grabbed Tobi's hand with crushing strength.

"Itai! Tobi is a good boy, Tobi is a good boy! Tobi did not mean to wake Kuroi up! Please let go of Tobi's hand!"

The aforementioned Uchiha's eyes widened as she realized that she was gripping Tobi's hand a little to hard. "Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!" She immediately let go and bowed her head.

Tobi sighed in relief, giving his hand a shake to make the blood flow back. "Tobi is fine, Kuroi did not crush Tobi's hand."

Kuroi smiled and found herself consulting the clock for the time. "It's almost three AM huh. Wanna go get some breakfast, Tobi?"

"Hai! Kuroi is a good cook! Tobi will eat Kuroi's cooking happily!"

* * *

Naruto glared at his alarm clock. It was three in the morning and he hadn't even slept a wink. Kuroi had been gone for three days now! There should be teams deployed to get her back, Tsunade no baa-chan should've given them and update by then and everyone should've been on a massive manhunt! But nooo! Just like when Sasuke left, there was only one mission to retrieve him. One mission, that was it. He groaned and stood up, walking to his kitchen.

"Ramen..." Naruto scoured the cupboard for the unhealthy snack and was horrified when he found it empty. "NO RAMEN?" Naruto got dressed and dashed out of his house mumbling a few choice words.

He almost knocked over a walking Shikamaru. To the latter's relief, Naruto found the strength to hit the breaks. A stream of words escaped Naruto's mouth and before Shikamaru could make any sense of them, the blonde started walking away. "Wait! Naruto! You're needed in the Hokage's office."

Naruto's expression immediately changed. "Is it Kuroi?"

"You could say that."

"Fine. You coming?"

"No, I have something I need to take care of." At that, Naruto threw himself into the air and ran to Tsunade's office.

"Ohayou, baa-chan." Naruto gave a small wave and immediately planted his feet in front of the Hokage's desk. "Is it about K-"

Before he could utter another word, he found himself in a state of shock at the current state of Tsunade's office, papers strewn across the floor, empty sake bottles rolling around, scrolls adorning the top of the desk on which the Godaime Hokage was currently resting. It was odd. When Naruto entered that office, he usually found it as clean and organized as Shizune made sure to it that it was. Speaking of the blonde's assistant, she looked like she hadn't slept for days! And when Tsunade finally raised her head to welcome Naruto, he could say the same for her. Maybe even worse.

"Ohayou~" Tsunade's voice slurred as she reached for a half-empty sake bottle which Shizune quickly swatted out of her hand.

"You've had too much, Tsunade-sama!" The blonde in question glared as her subordinate mustered up all the energy she had left to stand her ground.

Tsunade finally looked away due to an oncoming headache and uttered a defeated 'Fine.'

"What happened, baa-chan?"

"Well... Half of the mess is from me being outraged, and the other half is from me searching for... records of any and all information concerning Kuroi... and Sasuke."

Naruto's eyes widened at the name. Then a look of utter joy washed over him. "Great! We're looking for him too? I gotta tell Sakura-chan."

"Wait! Naruto, I'm not done. We're looking for him too, because he's trying to kill her."

Those words hung in the air and for a moment, Naruto thought he could hear the sound of his own tears hitting the floor. When he first opened his mouth, nothing came. He couldn't form any words. He grabbed his hair and gathered all his strength to scream one word. "SASUKE!"

* * *

**Sooo... Did ya miss me? :D Haha I guess some of you hate me for updating late, huh? But please direct all that anger to me, and not the story, ne?**

**Oh yeah, 'member when I said that there'd be more fluffy scenes and less drama? Well, let's just say... "The fluffiness is within your grasp, o patient readers of mine!"**

**Thanks for all the support. Ya know, comments and reading and stuff. Bye! Seeyah next chappie!**


	6. Guilt

**Greetings and salutations, my awesomely wonderful and amazing readers! I present to you the 6th chapter of Rogue! (Which roughly consists of 5,000+ words.) :D**

**Now, this thought has been bugging me ever since I wrote the first chapter, "What if they don't like it? What if they flame me to tears?" Well, thoughts, really. But I did think those things though. The main reason for that was because of the OC part of my fic. Sometimes I hate OC fics 'cause most of them are Mary-Sue-ish. (No offense meant.) So I tried to make Kuroi her own character, I tried to make her as different from me as possible. Of course, some of my traits are hers too. But that's just because I wrote her and naturally, I'd like her to be like me even if it's just a little. But obviously you guys like her. And I thank you so much for that. You are the most epic readers a girl could have. ^w^ Thanks!**

**Enjoy! :3**

* * *

**Rogue: Guilt**

Kuroi and Tobi worked happily on their breakfast consisting of strawberry waffles and bacon. They had worked long enough for the other members to notice. And before they knew it, unexpected visitors flooded into the kitchen. Tobi grinned happily (or at least gave off the impression that he did) and set the table, humming a lively, fruitcake-y tune (to the horror of his comrades.)

Kuroi took off her apron and sat herself down, mentally thanking the heavens for Itachi's absence. Tobi brought their cooking to the table and Deidara had to hide a smirk under his hand._"This is sooo girly coming from a girl who has a psychopath for a brother."_

"So... What's on our regimen?" Kuroi grinned expectantly, awaiting her instructions for the day.

Pein took a moment to chew and swallow his food before answering the raven's inquiry. "It has come to my attention that you have been borrowing clothing from Deidara?" He paused, eyeing Kuroi's chosen clothes for the day in a somewhat disgusted manner. To which the aforementioned blonde scoffed at. "You are to go into the nearest town with Deidara and purchase a new wardrobe." He took a bite of his waffle for good measure and couldn't help but watch in concealed amusement the reactions of the partners.

"WHAT?" They exclaimed at the same time, sending each other a glare almost immediately.

"Oppose me, and I shall have Hidan sacrifice you to his god." He stated flatly. The fair-haired Jashinist immediately beamed at that, readying his scythe. "But that would be a waste. So I suggest you follow my orders." The scythe was dropped with Hidan mumbling a wide array of cuss words. Some of which Kuroi had never even heard before.

Deidara and Kuroi sighed in defeat, both muttering an annoyed 'Fine.'

"Good. Kakuzu, provide these two with adequate currency."

Kakuzu glared at them both, daring them to spend too much. He then slapped a wad of cash onto Deidara's palm, bidding the money goodbye. Pein nodded at Konan, the blue-haired woman responding by leaving the room quietly. Pein turned back to Kuroi with something that vaguely resembled a smile gracing his features. "You have deemed yourself worthy of the Akatsuki insignia. Without further delay, we are pleased to welcome you into our organization." And as if on cue, Konan walked back into the room with a pile of neatly folded black cloth in her arms. She held it out and let it fall to it's full length.

Tobi blanched and squeaked with glee, all too proud of Kuroi's achievement. Kuroi flashed a grin at Deidara as she walked over to retrieve her cloak. The blonde returned it with a smirk. "Heh. Congrats, un."

The raven held the garment at arm's length, slightly confused at her pride in herself. She joined the Akatsuki to find Sasuke. That was it. Nothing more. All the time she would spend with the organization was just for them to trust her. Not for them to welcome her entirely into their ranks. Kuroi buttoned up the cloak in one fluid motion, brushing away those thoughts for the time being. For now, she just had to stick with them. Their leader nodded in her direction and sent them off.

Deidara had to groan at the seriousness of it all. Pein was sending them to buy _clothes_, for fuck's sake!

* * *

"How could he?" Naruto lashed out, taking all his anger out on a poor wall, and if possible, making Tsunade's office even more unsightly. "Kuroi is the only real family he's got left!"

"Naruto-kun! You're hands are bleeding!" Shizune shouted, all attempts to calm the boy down proving unsuccessful. Tsunade merely sat at her desk, drowning out the noise Naruto was creating.

"Leave him, Shizune. He'll stop eventually."

"But!"

"Everyone needs to vent once in a while, Shizune." At that, the brunette allowed herself to forget Naruto and tend to a shivering Tonton. Countless hours were spent with Tsunade staring at the current state of her office, Shizune holding Tonton in a comforting hug and Naruto attempting to break the wall with his fists. Then Naruto's angry screams were reduced to sobs, his hands dripping with blood. He let himself fall to the floor, staring at the bright skies outside. He felt something wet nudging his cheek, and he had to smile when he was met with the worry in Tonton's eyes.

"I'm fine, little dude." His eyes drifted back to the window. _"I think."_

* * *

"What?" Sakura had almost choked on her dango, the news being too overwhelming.

Shikamaru sighed. Why did he always let himself get involved? He should've refused that mission years ago. Now he had the burden of guilt every time Sasuke's name was mentioned. "That's what Sai reported. Apparently, Danzo sent him to spy on Oro-"

"I don't care how he got that information! For all we know, it could be a trap to lure us to them!" Sakura slammed her hands on the table and stood up, refusing to accept that Sasuke had orders to kill his own sister.

"Sakura."

The medic averted her eyes and sat down. "Sorry. How's Naruto taking all this?" She asked worriedly.

"That's something you'll have to see for yourself."

Sakura cringed a bit, to which Shikamaru countered with an empty chuckle. "Yeah. I'm scared too."

* * *

Deidara was bored. Of all the villages that were close to the hideout, it just _had _to be Amegakure. The gloomiest, most depressing and life-sucking village in the world. (In his opinion anyway.) To make it worse, it was raining rather heavily and they had to wear thicker cloaks. They were heavy when wet and made them stand out. But for some reason, the people walked past them as if they never even existed. But that wasn't the end of it. He was sharing an umbrella with Kuroi, for Kakuzu had kindly pointed out that they couldn't afford to bring two. Just for the simple reason that stupid Itachi had cast Amaterasu on the last one.

But Deidara couldn't lie, the mere fact that he got this close to a girl he supposedly enjoyed being with was pure bliss in itself. He just hated it when she acted all hyper and unbearable which surprisingly enough, wasn't the case. She was pretty mellow despite her determination to annoy Deidara whenever he was around. But the blonde decided that he wouldn't dwell on it for fear of triggering her excessive activeness once again. "So what exactly are we looking for?"

"Well, remember when I told you about Hotaru?" [1]

"Yeah, what about him, un?"

"While we traveled to Yoru-shishou's home, we had to stop here for the night and he offered to take me around the village the next morning. And we came across a clothing store that sold yukatas." She paused for a while before mimicking Deidara's baffled look.

"So he bought you a yukata and you just took it?"

"What? I was _six. _It was completely unromantic!" The raven retorted, a light blush dusting her cheeks. [2]

Deidara puffed his cheeks out in fake in fake indifference. "Like I care, un."

Kuroi's blush disappeared as she took that chance to annoy the blonde artist. Grinning, she put in, "Aww... Dei-chan's jealous!"

_"And... she's back." _(Insert mental groan here.) "No, I am not jealous! I just really don't care, un!"

"Yeah, I believe you." Kuroi smirked. "We're here."

Deidara had to squint through the rain to see the small shack of a store situated between two rather large establishments. "That's it?"

"It's bigger inside. Come on." She dragged the blonde to the building, Deidara trying to keep the small umbrella above the raven's head. They entered and were immediately bathed in warm candle light. Numerous articles of clothing hung from the ceiling and swayed silently with the wind.

"Irashaimasu." A small, withered voice greeted them.

"Baa-san!"

"Uchiha Kuroi... How you've grown!" The old woman smiled and extended a shaky hand to Kuroi. "Who is that young man? Could that be... Hotaru?"

Kuroi gave the woman a quick hug and pulled away, a sad smile on her face. "Hotaru died in battle."

Deidara felt a pang of guilt at that. The way he said he didn't care probably hurt Kuroi a lot.

The woman averted her eyes. "I'm sorry for your loss. A fine young man, that one." Her eyes flickered back to Deidara. "Who's this then?"

"A _very_ _distant_ cousin who came to visit." Kuroi smiled.

"May I know your name, boy?"

Deidara almost jumped as the woman's attention was directed at him. Panicking, he blurted out the first name that came to mind. "Uh... Bob!"

"Ah, a westerner." She faced Kuroi and with a stern tone said, "Nothing good ever came from associating with foreigners, my dear."

'Bob' sweatdropped. _"What the hell is wrong with this old lady?"_

"He's alright, baa-san." Kuroi grinned.

"Whatever you say. Now, what are you looking for?" Miharu stood up and walked through the two long rows of clothes, lighting candles along the way. As she reached the end, Deidara was awed to find the the store was, in fact, larger than it seemed. Drifting back to them, she dragged her hand through the soft fabric of the clothes. "Any preferences you might have?"

"Well, I might need something light and comfy for battle..." Kuroi trailed off, deep in thought.

A flash of something brown and glossy caught Deidara's eye. He backtracked to the source and saw a door at the end of the long hall. _"Wonder where it leads to, un."_

"I might have something like that here..." Her hand plunged into a random cluster of cloth on the wall and came out afterwards holding a black hooded sweatshirt along with yet another black mass. Shorts. "Ah! Here."

"Thanks, baa-san. May I?" She pointed to the door at the end of the hall and Miharu nodded.

Deidara craned his neck to get a better view as Kuroi opened the door but was dismayed as he was slapped on the head with a paper fan.

Miharu dragged him to sit on a pillow as she sat opposite of him, pouring him a cup of tea. "So... Bob."

"Why do I feel like that's not your real name? Out with it, boy."

Deidara blanched. _"So she just wanted to get me alone? Dirty bitch..." _He managed a smile and rubbed the back of his neck. "What are you talking about, Miharu-sama? Of course that's my real name, un!"

The woman smirked. "My, my. What a charming speech disorder. Hmph. You are definitely not of the Uchiha bloodline." She pressed on. "So tell me, _'Bob'_. What possessed dear, innocent Kuroi to lie to me about you, hm? Did you blackmail her, is she under a genjutsu?"

_"Dear, innocent? This lady's nuts, un!" _Deidara's smile wavered as he forced himself to keep up the act. "I'm sorry to tell you this, baa-sama. But I'm not lying to you, I really am Kuroi's cousin, un." He stared into her eyes and broke out the most honest, goody-two-shoes look he could muster, hoping to finally convince her.

The pair perked up, hearing a soft click. "How do I look?" Kuroi grinned, clad in the clothes from earlier, black boots and her hair in a messy yet inexplicably flattering braid.

"You look beautiful, dear." Miharu smiled.

"Yeah.." Deidara found himself muttering, clamping a hand over his mouth immediately. _"They're turning my brain into mush, un!"_

Miharu shot him an amused glare, hearing what he had said. Luckily, Kuroi seemed oblivious to his slip-up. "I'll just change back and we'll be going, Bob."

The blonde nodded wearily and smiled back. And once again, he was left with the crazy old lady. Said crazy old lady looked him in the eye and said. "Hurt her, and face the wrath of my paper fan, _Bob."_

For some reason, Kuroi changed faster than the first time. She burst out of the changing room and took a few more clothes along the way. She smiled and said her goodbyes, leaving a red envelope on Miharu's tea table. To pay for the clothes, Deidara guessed. Once out of the shop, Kuroi let out a hearty laugh directed at the blonde, tears streaming from her eyes. Although he couldn't tell if they were tears or just the rain. "Bob?" She said in between giggles.

Deidara frowned, muttering a few obscenities at Kuroi. "Well it wouldn't have been so ugly if you hadn't lied about me being your cousin, un!"

"What? You wanna spend the rest of your life in a shitty holding cell?" Kuroi grinned.

"Fine, fine. You win. Happy?"

"Ever so, Dei-chan."

Deidara rolled his eyes and tried to match the 'lively' girl's pace. 'Stupid long legs,' he thought as he almost tripped face first into a muddy puddle. Oh how he cursed and worshiped them at the same time. And with that, he found himself in a reverie concerning his partner's legs. To distract himself, he focused on the raindrops pelting the small umbrella to breakage. The drumming sound made him feel at ease. In fact, if he thought really hard, they sounded like trillions of small-scale bombs going off in the distance.

"Oi. Oi!"

Deidara was knocked out of his stupor as he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. "Ow! That hurt, un!"

"You weren't listening so I had to punch you." She said matter-of-factly. After a few moments of joy-filled silence (as Deidara would put it), the raven asked. "What now?"

"Do I really need to state the obvious, Princess? We're finished here. So naturally, we go back, un."

Kuroi huffed. "Where's your sense of adventure, Dei-Dei? We should explore for a bit more."

_"So it's _Dei-Dei _now?" _He grumbled mentally. "That wasn't part of the 'mission'. If you can call shopping a mission..." He mumbled.

"That was by far the most boring thing you have ever said."

"Alright, un. What do _you _wanna do?"

Kuroi smirked. "I'm hungry."

"You are by far the most annoying partner I have ever had, un." The blond sighed, holding up his outstretched hand. The umbrella was getting heavier by the second and the ex-ANBU captain just just _had _to make full use of her long legs and walk a tad faster than Deidara. And naturally, the blonde was being stupid and keeping the umbrella over her head rather than his. Don't ask him why, you'll never get a straight answer out of him.

"Worse than Tobi?" She countered.

The bomber rolled his eyes. "I'm even starting to miss the little bastard. How wrong is that?"

"I don't get why you dislike him so much. He's a fun guy! Unlike some people I know." She stuck her tongue out at the artist. With a large grin, she grabbed the umbrella and ran to a small ice cream stand, taking out the cash Kakuzu had provided them with.

The blonde swore at the sudden shower of cold rain water, making his way hurriedly under the mini-roof beside his obnoxious partner. "I hate you."

"Yeah, yeah. Here." Kuroi shoved a cone of strawberry ice cream in his face, almost smearing it onto his nose.

"I hate strawberry ice cream." He grumbled, glaring at the frozen dessert as if it was the harbinger of all chaos.

"What? You ate my waffles."

"I don't hate the strawberries themselves, un."

Kuroi brought the ice cream to her mouth and held out her chocolate instead. "Have mine."

Deidara stared contemplatively at the sweet delicacy. "It's poisoned, isn't it?"

"Wow, Dei-Dei. I never thought I'd live to see a shinobi who's scared of ice cream."

"Fine." He took the cone and ate a mouthful, staining his damp face.

She immediately brought out a torn piece of fabric and pressed it to his mouth, her lips parted in deep concentration.

"What? You're gonna suffocate me with your rag now?" He put in sarcastically, his words muffled a bit by the cloth.

"Unless you want me to." She pressed harder, putting a large amount of pressure onto his nose and mouth.

The blonde panicked. So this was the end of him? A slow, painful death. Not at all in the ephemeral way he'd rather have his demise. But the fates smiled upon him as a fresh breath of air entered his lungs. He directed a glare at his snickering partner. "Are you crazy?"

The raven leaned in 'till they were practically nose-to-nose. "Maybe." She grinned. With a flick of her wrist, she finished wiping his face off and put the cloth away.

"I know I'm repeating myself with this, but I hate you." He said with major distaste. But despite the fact that she had just tried to kill him with a rag, he couldn't help but smile. (Yes. Akatsuki members are known for being deranged.)

* * *

"Tsunade-sama?" A meek voice registered in the blonde's head. There was a small hum of acknowledgement, a click and a gasp. He heard footsteps running towards him. "Naruto!"

Another voice came, a teenage boy this time. "What happened?"

"What he usually does when there's bad news. Lashes out and injures himself."

He felt someone shaking him by the shoulders in an attempt to wake him in his fake slumber. He frowned. He just wanted to rest and forget it all for a few seconds. Was that really too much to ask?

"Wake up you idiot!" He felt a large force hitting his face.

With a concealed sigh, he opened his eyes to be greeted with the sight of emerald pools. "What is it, Sakura? Lemme sleep."

Sakura stood up, huffing in anger. "Don't you dare run away from this! What happened to the old you? These days you just hunch around feeling sorry for yourself! The old you would want to save Kuroi."

Naruto quieted down. He sat up, blonde locks hiding his face. "What's the point? We've been looking for Sasuke for years. If we were really capable, shouldn't we have found him by now? If we can't even do that, how can we expect ourselves to be good enough to save Kuroi?"

"We did find him! Remember? Our first mission with Sai? That's progress, right? You can't give up on Sasuke and Kuroi!" Sakura took the blonde's hands, a green glow around their connection.

The blue-eyed teen stared at the healing light. Silence loomed over the room and the only sound heard was the soft swoosh of Sakura's chakra. Everyone looked expectantly at the Jinchuuriki. Sakura let him go and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We'll find them both."

Naruto looked up with his signature grin. "Of course we will."

* * *

Sasuke frowned. The prospect of Orochimaru sending him out on a wild goose chase was annoying enough. But Orochimaru sending him out on a wild goose chase _in the rain _was another thing. The odd thing was, only the area around the village and the village itself had bad weather. Everywhere else was sunny all the way. Not that he was bothered by the rain. He merely hated Orochimaru's nerve to send him on a mission without any real evidence that his target had even set foot in the village.

With a sigh, he braced himself before entering the wall of rain. The water was cold, to say the least. Once the cold spray of water hit his face, he immediately felt like he was being watched. With that, he made it a point to walk as slowly as the people around him. It didn't bother him because his cloak weighed him down anyway. If he hadn't worn it, he would've immediately been seen as a threat before he even entered the village. He surveyed the area for what Orochimaru had sent him to find. _"Kuroi." _The name had haunted his mind ever since he left her in the care of that blonde Akatsuki. He had almost hated himself for leaving her. But he also hated her for betraying the village. Not that he hadn't done it himself, he thought miserably. With a discontent scowl, he entered store after store, scouring the village for his twin sister.

"Not here." He muttered in annoyance. He got deeper and deeper into the village until he came across a shack. He had almost dismissed it as someones house but then he caught sight of a sign just above it's door. 'AOI no HARISEN' It read in big bold letters. He walked in, relieved when he found it warm inside.

"Irashaimasu." A voice called. "Come, come. Never mind your wet clothes."

Sasuke saw a old woman sitting at a tea table. He squinted as he tried to make out her features. He did as told and approached her slowly.

"Sit down, boy. You must be tired."

He nodded his thanks and eyed a red envelope on the table. There was a faded symbol on it, smudged by the rain he assumed. It seemed oddly familliar to him. But before he could get a closer look at it, the woman spoke.

"Tea?" She asked, motioning to a kettle whilst placing a small candle on the table. When she looked up, Sasuke saw surprise in her eyes. "My, my. Curious. Very curious indeed." She examined his face with analytical eyes, paying close attention to his onyx pools.

"What?" The raven shifted on his pillow, slightly uncomfortable.

"Never mind, my boy." She smiled, pouring herself a cup of tea. When she offered him some, he just shook his head.

"I won't be here for long. I'm only here to look for someone."

"Hm... And who might that be?" She took a sip.

Sasuke hesitated. "I'm not sure if that information is safe to share."

"Ah, a businessman." She grinned.

"I don't mean to offend you. Please don't take it personally."

"Alright, alright. Keep your hair on, boy." Another sip. "Now, I have to ask. Does this symbol mean anything to you?" She held up the red envelope with a trembling hand.

The young Uchiha leaned in for a closer look. It really did look familliar. The thin black outline, the red on top of the white. Then he saw it. And he almost gasped when he did. He brought his suprised albeit angry eyes to stare at the old woman. "What business do you have with my family?" He reached for the envelope but was dismayed when the woman tucked it into her obi. [3]

"Hmph. You are definitely an Uchiha." The woman rolled her eyes. "Demanding and often graced with a _charming_ superiority complex."

Sasuke glared.

"And that glare says it all, mind you." The woman drawled. "Really, I wonder how Kuroi turned out to be so polite an-"

"You know Kuroi?"

"There you go, not even letting me finish my sentence. Typical for an Uchiha you ask me."

Sasuke's glare only intensified as he demanded, "Who are you anyway?"

The woman smirked. "Miharu Kazami, Harisen no Onna. But that isn't of any value to you. Ne, Sasuke?"

"How did you-?"

"You look so much like her, did you know? Not just because of the fact that you're twins. And she loves you very much." Miharu smiled.

The young Uchiha frowned. "I'm leaving."

"Sit down." She commanded, and oddly enough, Sasuke complied. "She did it for you. Why do insist on hating her?"

"You know?"

"Of course I do. She may have hidden the fact from me, but I know your twisted family too much to not be aware when something is askew."

"How do you know so much about my clan?"

"Well for one thing, you Uchihas are some of the most predictable people I've ever seen." She said. To which Sasuke frowned at. "And my daughter worked for your clan. She died that night."

Sasuke mentally scolded himself for feeling guilty. That was his brother's doing, not his.

"My family has served your family for years. We have seen generations and generations of deceit and cruelness within that district. That's how I know. Now answer my question. Why are you so ungrateful for your sister's actions? She's sacrificing herself to save your life."

"I can take care of myself." He retorted angrily.

Miharu's eyes narrowed. "And yet you stay with that snake? Surely you know what he plans on doing to you when you're strong enough to satisfy him? Or are you really that naive?"

The Uchiha gripped at his katana's holder. "Of course I do. I've known all along. But I don't care anymore. As long as I get my revenge."

"What a sad soul you've become, Uchiha Sasuke." She paused once again and downed her tea. "Yet, one question is still left unanswered. A question you clearly have the mindset to avoid, ne?"

Sasuke sneered at the old woman, his aura seeping with murderous intent. He found no real reason as to why he wanted that woman gone. He couldn't explain why his blood boiled when she spoke ill of him. These feelings should've been water on his back. But they still left him feeling angry and frustrated, at the same time sad and hopeless."How are you doing this?" He asked before he could stop himself.

"Maybe because everything I've said up to now is true." She stated as if it was the simplest thing.

And before he knew it, Sasuke had a Chidori in one hand, and his katana in the other, the tip scratching as Miharu's neck. She didn't move. She just sat there as if she was expecting his outburst. A few deafening seconds passed, the only sound heard was the chirp of his technique and his labored breathing.

The woman's voice broke the silence. "Before you kill me..." She started, waiting for him to catch his breath. "Before you kill me, please answer my question. I'd like to know."

Sasuke's mouth hung open in disbelief. This old woman was on the brink of death, and yet she stuck to her question. With a sigh of defeat, the chirps died down and the katana was lowered. He sat back down slowly.

"Finally. Did I really have to provoke you to get an answer?" She poured him a cup of tea and set it in front of him.

Sasuke ignored her comment and took the cup. "I thought she was _dead._" He said quietly. "I thought Itachi killed her too. But then I meet her years later, alive and well. And in the _Akatsuki._" He frowned at the name. "I hated her for it. I felt betrayed. She had joined forces with the one I intended to kill. The one who I thought to be the only family I had left, until Kuroi came along. Then she smashed my feelings of relief in seconds, when that guy from Akatsuki came."

"You have my sympathy, boy. But is it really that bad? Do you really think that Kuroi has forgiven Itachi for what he did?" Sasuke's eyes averted to the tea in his hands. "Ah, you have doubts. You're right to have them. She hates him just as much as you do. But she, like you, also has her doubts. She thinks Itachi lied about why he destroyed the Uchiha clan."

"What? She told you all this?"

"Not directly. My clan has developed a jutsu similar to that of the Yamanaka clan. We read minds without the victim knowing. Our chakra enters the victim's brain and searches for information, then it transfers back to us. Though this jutsu can only work for so long. Ten minutes to be exact. So you only really get enough information if you know what you're looking for." Miharu paused, glaring back at Sasuke. "Don't give me that look. She knows full well that I can use that jutsu. She probably even intended to make me find out."

"Why didn't you stop her?" Sasuke snarled, his hand tightening around his katana.

Miharu scoffed. "The only way to stop her is to kill her or go back with her, boy. And if I were you, I'd choose the latter." She added threateningly.

* * *

**1. I know I didn't really write a scene about Kuroi mentioning Hotaru to Deidara. But let's just say she did, for the sake of the story. ^w^ (Gomen for my laziness.)  
2. I am under the impression that men who buy women clothes want to make them feel even more beautiful. Am I right, guy readers and manly girl readers? :D  
3. The thick thingy that is wrapped around your waist when you wear a kimono. Trust me, that is the best description I can come up with.**

**Well? It's there! What, you ask? Teh FLUFF tahts waht! ^w^ Sorry, my friend hooked me up on lolcats and now I talk like them. TTwTT Now back to the topic at hand, if that didn't look like fluff to you, it's probably because I'm trying to make it fluffy without making it cavity-inducing. You know, like it'll make you go "Aww..." but it won't make you giggle your heart out. Well, you get my point. **

**Sorry, that part about Naruto sucked. ^w^' I think I'm getting a bit rusty. It's pretty hot in my country right now and the heat is affecting my brain I guess. And sorry about using Amegakure. :D I just wanted it to rain here so bad that I wrote about it. **


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